


The Definition of a Hero

by ohmytheon



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Fullmetal Alchemist 2003/Brotherhood Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Quirks (My Hero Academia), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, BAMF Roy Mustang, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dark Past, Distrust, FMA characters in the BNHA universe, Fights, Fire, Gen, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Roy Mustang, Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Regret, Teacher Roy Mustang, Villains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-04-21 14:49:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 89,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14287260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: (FMA/BNHA crossover with characters from both animes)Bakugou's favorite hero has always been All Might and Todoroki is growing to hate the fire half of his quirk -- and then a new hero shows up, the Flame Alchemist, and things begin to change. Meanwhile, Ed is determined to go to U.A. despite a childhood accident with his quirk. But when they all begin to attend U.A., everyone is surprised to find that not only is All Might one of their new teachers, but also the Flame Alchemist, who may have an alternative motive and a darker past than anyone could have imagined.





	1. Inspire

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where I'm going with this. There isn't a set plot for this. I'm just kind of writing chapters as they come. Hopefully there will be some sort of structure, but I doubt it. The good news is that I have a billion and one headcanons and I am excited to write about them all! I spent a lot of time the other day coming up with ideas and it evolved into something massive. Basically this started from me picturing Roy interacting with Todoroki and Bakugou and then Riza and Todoroki talking about their burns and then Deku and Ed becoming friends and then Roy antagonizing Endeavor, and well... I've got a lot of feelings. Do I have a million other things to write? Yes. Will that stop me from going overboard with this? No. As for right now, I don't have any ships because the kids are kids and I love all the ships, but you all know Royai owns my ass, so there's that.
> 
> Notes on ages: Bakugou and Todoroki are 8 in the first two while Roy is 23. They're 10 in the last two and Roy is 25. I'm having him be the same age as Aizawa, which is basically his age in FMA.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakugou and Todoroki see the Flame Alchemist pro hero for the first time; each are affected very differently.

Bakugou’s favorite superhero was All Might. Not only was he crazy strong, but he was super fast too. He could take a villain out with a single punch, knock them so far into the sky that they disappeared from sight, and jump so far and high that it was almost like he could fly. And he did it all with a smile and a laugh. Nothing scared him at all; no one could defeat him; there wasn't a cooler superhero in the entire world.

And then, one day when he was eight, he was sitting at school when an explosion shook the building. It was far enough that there was no damage, but close enough to incite panic. Like all the other kids, Bakugou jumped out of his seat and shot towards the windows, knocking Deku out of his way so that he could get the best view. There were a few more rattling noises, but the buildings blocked what was actually happening.

All they could see was smoke from the classroom, a black cloud billowing towards the sky, but then there was a crackle and another explosion rattled them. No, it wasn't just an explosion, like his quirk; it was actual fire, a wall of it, rising higher and higher in the air like a tornado. Everyone in the room gasped; a few stumbled away from the window despite the fight being too far from them while Bakugou pressed his face closer to the glass.

_ Was it a new villain? _ Bakugou wondered, brimming with a wild sort of energy. But no, as dangerous and volatile as the column of fire was, it was controlled. It was purposeful. He didn't know how he could tell, maybe from the way it moved or how it suddenly drained, sinking back to the ground behind the buildings instead of going up to the sky, but it felt right.

As soon as it had begun, it was over and they were all forced to return to their seats, although Bakugou couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day. The second he got home, he blew through the house, ignoring his mother’s insistent calls, and got on their home computer. He knew how to pull up footage of news on heroes and villains, like most kids, and he did so now, scouring news for their town.

What he saw on the screen made his eyes widen and he jumped up in his seat: there was a villain, a terrible and huge beast, snarling and holding onto a screaming man with one large clawed hand. Out of nowhere, fire zigzagged down the street, evading every civilian, until it struck the villain’s arm, causing it to let go of its victim. No one moved, shocked by the scene, and out of the smoke appeared man.

He couldn't have been that old, maybe fresh into the hero business. Of course he was older than Bakugou, but he was still young, his black hair a perfect mess, dark eyes flashing behind a blue mask that rested over his eyes, and an almost cheeky grin on his face. Bakugou found himself emulating that same look as he watched the screen. The hero practically swaggered toward the villain, completely at ease, not a care in the world, like he was on a stroll downtown.

Bakugou had never seen such an open display of confidence before, except maybe in himself, and it was awesome.

“You know, today is my first day in town and I was really wanting to let off some steam,” the masked hero said, his grin broadening. He came to a stop just out of the villain’s reach. “I guess this will have to do.”

“Cheap party tricks!” the villain snarled with a sneer on its beastly face. “Who do you think you are that you can defeat me so easily?”

“Well,” the hero replied thoughtfully, “I go by the Flame Alchemist.” He lifted a white gloved hand and his grin took on a slightly sadistic turn. “But you can call me your worst nightmare.”

The villain let out a roar that caused a windows to shatter and car alarms to go off, but the second he took one step towards the hero, an explosion of fire burst from its mouth, flinging it onto its back. As it staggered to its feet, smoke pouring out of its mouth, another ball of fire erupted on the ground where it had put its hand to push up, throwing it down the street again and then another where it landed, blowing it into the sky.

Meanwhile the hero hadn't moved from where he stood, hadn't even blinked, no evidence suggesting that it was his doing, but Bakugou knew. Whatever his specific quirk was, it was incredibly powerful and vicious.

It was, in a word that Bakugou had never thought to use before, magnificent. It was so damn cool.

The hero let out a disappointed sigh. “And here I'd been told that the villains here were something to be feared.” He shook his head and then a line of fire snaked up around the beast’s body, causing it to howl in pain and rage. “Looks like I came for nothing. I'm not impressed.”

“Not - impressed?” the villain ground out. He burst through the fire, fighting through the searing pain it must've caused, and picked up an SUV, throwing it towards the crowd of civilians. Bakugou watched in wide-eyed shock as the vehicle sailed towards the person taking the video and everyone screamed.

Bakugou saw the problem right away. The hero’s quirk, much like Bakugou’s own, was powerful, but it was meant for combat and taking down enemies, not for rescuing. And it didn't matter how fast and physically strong he was, without super strength or speed as well, he would not be able to stop the car in midair.

But then, after perhaps a second of panic, the hero swiveled on his feet and Bakugou saw him snap his fingers right before a large ball of fire hit the top of the SUV, changing its trajectory and knocking it flat into the ground. Then, before the leaking gas could catch fire and explode, all the flames vanished, like they were sucked right out of the air.

Bakugou gaped at the scene. He had seen people create fire and explosions and all sorts of similar stuff like that with their quirks - he could do a lot of them - but he had never heard of anyone taking away flames like that. People could control their own, but not others’ or wild ones.

However, the time it took to save the civilians caused the hero to become distracted from the villain, who took advantage and attacked him. He just barely managed to dodge being tackled, but then was caught from behind by the villain’s tail, which smacked him hard enough to knock him off his feet and send him flying into the street. Bakugou thought for sure that he was done for, but then the hero dragged himself to his feet, swiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

And he laughed.

Full-on, powerful, wild. The kind of laugh that you let loose without abandon but also different. It was… It was like a warning. It sounded just as dangerous as his flames looked.

“Better, better!” the hero exclaimed. “But not good enough.”

With a flick of his wrist, a tornado of fire wrapped around the villain, spiraling from his feet and up its body until it seemed to touch the sky. Beneath the sounds of the explosive fire were the screams of the villain, whose thick skin was slowly being burned away. It was terrifying and incredible and Bakugou’s young mind was overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the hero’s attack.

Another step forward -- like the flames were nothing to him while everyone else cowered back in shock, awe, and horror -- and then the flames slowly began to dissipate, just like Bakugou had seen from his classroom window. The villain was collapsed on the ground, badly burnt but alive, labored breaths wracking its body and its fingers twitching unconsciously while the hero lorded over him, looking more like a conqueror, and the crowd cheered.

What Bakugou missed though, blinded by those explosions, was that despite the raw power of the hero’s flames and his explosive attacks, nearly all damage caused had only come from the villain. Nothing but a few scorch marks to the ground suggested that there had ever been a fire roaring in the streets.

*

Todoroki was used to his father’s flames. He was used to his burn mark now, even though it still felt like it hurt sometimes, and he was even used to his mother no longer living with them. Of course that didn’t mean he liked any of it. He missed his mother’s kind touch and gentle words before his father had twisted her into a broken version of herself. He missed the warmth despite all the flames.

But he didn’t want to use his fire quirk. He tried so hard not to, but his father wouldn’t allow it.

Once upon a time, All Might had told him on the television that his quirk could be his own -- both hot and cold -- but Todoroki had grown to hate the half of his quirk that he had inherited from his father. Flames could only be used to hurt. Yes, Endeavor was one of the strongest pro heroes and was incredibly powerful, but Todoroki didn’t care. The man had also destroyed their family, isolating Todoroki from everyone, as if trying to back him into a hole so that he was forced to use the fire half of his quirk in order to see again.

It wasn’t easy to fight his father like that. The man was harsh and as cold as his flames were hot. Todoroki was learning though. He dug his feet into ice and locked himself in place. He built ice cold walls around his heart, his mind, and steeled himself for every onslaught that his father threw at him. He survived through his painful training, but one day he’d show the man. Todoroki would become a hero without the fire. He wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction of winning after what he’d done. He hated the flames almost as much as he hated his father.

The Flame Alchemist’s flashy arrival into town and capture of a villain changed everything.

Having learned to how to avoid his father, especially depending on his moods, the first thing Todoroki noticed was the changed in his father’s temperament. Endeavor was an angry man by nature, his blood running as hot as his flames even if he’d learned to keep it in check for the public, but now he barreled through the house, practically snarling, his fists clenched, and his flames burning worse than ever before. Doors slammed shut so hard that the whole house shook. Todoroki could never remember seeing his father this furious, not even after the incident, but maybe that was because his whole memory of that event was kind of off.

All Todoroki knew was that it would be best to stay out of his father’s way. If he was this mad, it would be more than likely that he would take his frustrations out on Todoroki by trying to push him more than usual.

It was only by chance that Todoroki found out the source of his father’s rage. He went to get some water in the middle of the night and caught his father watching the television, fire burning in his eyes. Todoroki hesitated, not wanting to alert his father to his presence, but he was also curious at what was causing him to look even angrier than he did when Todoroki only used the cold half of his quirk.

“Damn Mustang,” Endeavor was grumbling, his voice sounding like thunder in the distance. “Damn him to hell. He should never have come back.”

Mustang? Todoroki stirred, but forced himself to not try to let him get a better look at the tv. Who was that? He’d never heard the name before. Was it a villain? Another kid might have asked or even let his curiosity get the best of him, but he knew to be quiet and wait. All he had to do was listen and he’d find out.

“The Flame Alchemist? That’s what he’s calling himself now? Idiot.” Endeavor snorted, his voice dismissive, but judging from the way his flames burned higher, that wasn’t how he truly felt.

A spark of curiosity lit up inside Todoroki’s head. He definitely had never heard that name before, but what really caught his attention was the name. Flame Alchemist. The only other person with a fire quirk that he knew was his father. He’d learned to despise the quirk, despite it resting in the palm of his right hand, but finding out that someone else could twist flames to their will was a surprise.

Todoroki quickly retreated to his room and waited for his father to leave for his hero job. Once he was certain that he was alone, Todoroki ran to the living room and turned on the tv, flipping through the channels until he found a news station that reported solely on heroes. He was normally very patient for his age, but found himself squirming on the couch as other heroes were talked about.

When the Flame Alchemist finally appeared on the screen, Todoroki jumped off the couch and rushed forward to sit directly in front of the tv, leaning forward with his hands on his knees. It was footage from his latest fight with a villain, apparently not the first. Endeavor kept up his training so fiercely that Todoroki rarely had any time off to do anything else so he’d never seen this hero before.

It was...strange. Seeing another person create flames that looked so similar to his own -- to Endeavor’s -- but also different. They looked like the same fire, but it didn’t come from him. The flames didn’t pour from his hands or from his body; they didn’t come from him. It was like he created them out of thin air. He didn’t need to be even close to the spot where the flames appeared. A flick of his wrist, a snap of his fingers, a clench of his fist and they appeared anywhere he wanted them to.

Fire exploded out of nowhere against the back of a villain, knocking them to their knees. It wrapped around like a snake, like some living thing, and then an explosion rocked him so hard that he flew back twenty feet. All while the Flame Alchemist stood triumphantly. He was scratched up and red stained the sleeve of his uniform, but he had a foot propped on top an unconscious villain as three other small ones laid around him.

After it was all done and the villains were rounded up, news reporters fought almost just as fiercely to speak with the Flame Alchemist. He was completely unfazed, an easy smile on his face and his hands in his pockets, like he was just out and about and hadn’t just kicked some serious butt.

“Your quirk is incredible!” one reporter exclaimed. “How have we not heard of you before?”

“Well, I worked overseas upon graduating,” the Flame Alchemist replied, the mics being shoved in his face not a bother at all, “but I decided it was time to come home.”

“You’re from around here then?” another reporter said. “Did you go to UA?”

The Flame Alchemist cheekily made a fist and pumped it in the air. “Plus Ultra!”

“So you have a fire quirk, right?” a third reporter questioned. At this, the Flame Alchemist’s smile turned sheepish, but he said nothing, letting the reporters infer. Todoroki noticed that the hero neither nodded nor shook his head, not confirming the reporter’s question. They seemed to all take it as a yes though. His flames hadn’t been just explosions and they hadn’t been like a river pouring from his body like Endeavor’s or Todoroki’s. They simply appeared from thin air, like magic.

“There’s another pro hero with a fire quirk in this area,” the third reporter continued. “Endeavor.”

At the mention of his father’s name, Todoroki started and leaned in even closer.

The Flame Alchemist nodded. “I’ve heard of him. Number two hero, isn’t he?”

“You look like you’re just as strong!” the first reporter pointed out. Oh, that would not have pleased his father. Todoroki sunk down, as if his father’s wrath in his mind was enough to smother him. He hated being looked over by All Might enough as it was. Having someone compared to him, especially someone that was young and up-and-coming like the Flame Alchemist, would infuriate him. “Would you consider a team up with him?”

Turning to face the camera directly, the Flame Alchemist flashed a bright grin, winked, and said, “I’m down for it if the old man is.”

Todoroki pressed his hands to his mouth. He had spent years under his father’s grueling training and was slowly learning to push back, maybe one day even outright defy him, but he could never ever think of saying anything like that about his father, especially not to his face. As far as Endeavor was concerned, he wasn’t even in his prime yet and would become stronger every day. The Flame Alchemist had called Endeavor an old man…

And for the first time in a very long time, laughs tumbled out of Todoroki’s mouth, muffled by his hands. If only for a moment, with his father gone and this new hero shining brightly on the screen, the flames on his right didn’t seem so bad. Just for a moment.

*

To say that Bakugou had become a fan of the Flame Alchemist might’ve been an understatement. Seeing that hero’s fight on the computer screen had impacted Bakugou with the strength of one of his own explosions. It felt as if the world had tilted towards him. For as long as he could remember, he had wanted to become a pro hero. All Might had been such an inspiring figure to all. The Flame Alchemist was something different. In Bakugou’s young mind, it was like the fire-based hero was speaking directly to him.

There was just something about the man that oozed confidence, but not the same kind as All Might. It was the kind of confidence that told everyone that he knew he was damn good. He knew that no one could get on his level. It didn’t matter what people said or what villains did. Nothing could bring him down. He knew the measure of his strength -- he knew every inch of his quirk -- and no one else but him could handle it.

When the Flame Alchemist appeared on the scene, other pro heroes visibly stepped back. When he showed up, you knew that you were in for a treat and that the villain would be demolished. It wasn’t the same kind of hope and relief that All Might brought when he showed up to save the day. It was exhilaration; it was anticipation.

It was even a bit of fear.

Bakugou didn’t miss the way other heroes stood away from the Flame Alchemist, especially when his grin would turn slightly manic during a fight. He caught the sometimes leery glances thrown at him during interviews or the way they watched his flames, like they might turn on them after taking down a villain. They always seemed to stand on edge around him, except for Hawk’s Eye, who would even roll her eyes at his theatrical antics and fearless bravado.

What Bakugou noticed the most about the Flame Alchemist’s exchanges with other heroes is that the hero noticed them as well -- he knew exactly what other heroes thought about him -- and  _ he didn’t give a damn _ . He saw their uneasiness for what it truly was: their own weakness in the face of his power. No matter what anyone else said, be it another hero giving a backhanded comment or a reporter calling out the volatile nature of his quirk, he didn’t back down.

If they were going to be afraid of him, then so be it. He wasn’t about to make himself lesser for anyone else. He owned his dangerous quirk and everyone else could sit back and watch.

That was what Bakugou wanted to be like all the time. His quirk was already powerful at ten and he would become the number one hero and no one would hold him back. Everyone around him said that his quirk was great and he was strong. He’d blow everyone out of the water and out of his way. He wouldn’t give a damn about what people thought of him unless it was for them to know that he was better than them and always would be.

And if people were afraid of him too, then it was all for the better. They should be afraid of him. He was going to be the best. Villains and heroes alike should be wary of him because he was never going to back down, just like the Flame Alchemist.

*

“Long time no see, Endeavor,” a man’s voice drawled at their left. “What? No Christmas cards?”

Todoroki almost slammed into his father’s back when he came to an abrupt stop. At first, Todoroki had thought that maybe an old nemesis had reappeared, judging from the way his father clenched his fists and his flames suddenly became hotter, but then no one else around them was panicking like a villain was in their midst. When he turned his attention to the mouth of an alley, he straightened up in surprise.

One shoulder leaning casually against the brick wall, while his right foot was tucked behind his left ankle, was the Flame Alchemist himself. The pro hero was in his full costume. As far as costumes went, it was very understated, which was unusual considering his explosive quirk and arrogant behavior when fighting. One would think that he would go for something flashy, but the only things that really drew the eye to him were the black mask on his face and the long black coat that flapped in the wind.

“Mustang,” Endeavor growled.

The Flame Alchemist’s grin turned savage. “So nice to see you again.”

“Still fond of lounging about, I see,” Endeavor replied. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Oh, I am,” the Flame Alchemist responded. There was a beat where Endeavor seemed to be waiting for the other hero to explain himself, but he never did. Endeavor snorted derisively and moved to leave when the Flame Alchemist’s eyes landed on Todoroki himself and immediately widened. “Is this your son?”

Any trace of animosity or antagonism left the hero’s face so fast that it had Todoroki spinning. Suddenly he was standing right next to him, bending down to look him directly in the eyes. Even though he hadn’t said anything and they had never met before, the Flame Alchemist’s dark eyes seem to see right through him, impossibly perceptive as they were dark, like he could tell just exactly what Todoroki’s quirk was without being told.

“Hi,” the Flame Alchemist said, holding out a hand, “it’s nice to meet you.”

Todoroki tentatively reached out to shake the hero’s hand when his father jerked him back by his shirt collar. It didn’t faze the Flame Alchemist at all. He glanced up at Endeavor, a rather flat look on his face, and then back to Todoroki, smoothing his expression as he slowly retracted his hand and stood up straight.

“You went and did it,” the Flame Alchemist said, his voice little more than a murmur. There was a hint of curiosity in those words, but Todoroki couldn’t miss the underlying contempt. It was surprising. He knew that his father didn’t like this man, whoever he was, but he had never seen anyone show any sort of disrespect towards his father. People might not have liked him, but they respected him. They admired him. Nothing like this.

“He will surpass everyone, including you” Endeavor proclaimed and Todoroki tried not to shrink back when he realized that they were talking about him. It wasn’t very hero-like and his father would punish him later. He had a feeling that this encounter would cause their training today to be more brutal than normal. “And everything you and that stupid old man will have been for nothing.”

The Flame Alchemist considered Endeavor for a moment, looking like there a whole host of disdainful retorts on his tongue, before wiping his expression clean again and responding, “I look forward to the day and I hope that he is as strong as he dreams to be.”

It felt as if a shock had zapped Todoroki. The words had been unexpected. He was used to heroes getting prickly about being bested, especially when it came by those younger than them. His father hated the comparison that some people had made between him and the Flame Alchemist. Yet this young hero didn’t even blink and he even sounded like he genuinely believed it.

As if done with this whole charade, the Flame Alchemist turned his attention back on Todoroki, turning his body slightly so that he was no longer facing Endeavor. It was a total dismissal of the man, which of course had him fuming in seconds. The Flame Alchemist either didn’t notice or didn’t care and Todoroki figured it was the latter. Touching two fingers to his head and then flicking them in a signal of goodbye, he said, “I’ll see you around, kid. Don’t let this bastard drag you down,” and then walked away.

Todoroki watched him disappear into the crowd in a way that no other pro heroes could. They stuck out and for good reason and yet the Flame Alchemist was gone. For once, he let his father drag him down the street without any complaint, his mind still reeling from the whole confrontation.

_ I hope that he’s as strong as he dreams to be. _ Not as strong as his father wanted him to be. As  _ he _ wanted to be. It was a strange and bright thing to consider -- that he might be able to have his own dreams when he had been born out of his father’s.


	2. diligent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their mother's death, Ed and Al push their quirks to their limits to get better, but suffer the consequences. Meanwhile, Roy hires Riza on at his agency for a personal reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the next two chapters already written, so I decided to go ahead and post this one. This chapter focuses mainly on Ed, Al, and Winry and their quirks (and the consequences of using them) with a side of Roy and Riza where we learn that Roy doesn’t have the pure history that all heroes have. I kind of worry that this isn’t my strongest writing, but I had fun with it. Also, I’m aware that anyone can take the entrance exam at U.A., but I forgot before I started my rewatch and didn’t feel like rewriting the scene. Let’s just say I’m going to start being creative once the characters start meeting anyways.

His mother’s quirk was a healing touch. She could bring something dying back to life, though she wasn’t as strong as the brave face that she put on. With a simple brush of her fingers, a dying flower could come back to life, glowing like it was its first blossom, or a piece of rotten fruit could get the shine back it and become just as ripe as it had been upon first falling from the tree.

However, when Ed had brought her a dying bird that had been mangled by a dog, all she could do was hold it in her cupped hands and feel the life slip out of it. Al had cried, not able to understand how her quirk could have failed her, but she had explained that all quirks had their limits. Some were stronger than others. All were unique. Still, quirks could only do so much. Maybe if it hadn’t been so injured, she could’ve saved the bird or if they had found it earlier, but her limit had been reached and the bird had died.

Ed had only been four, but he had promised that day that he would push his quirk to its limit every day until that limit got a little further with each try.

His own quirk manifested when he was five. One second he was been holding a spoon, trying to eat his soup, and the next it twisted into the shape of a squiggly line. It startled him and he dropped it into the soup, but he wasn’t scared. His mom was delighted and tested him to see what else he could do. She handed him certain objects until figuring out that he could only change the metal ones.

“Just like your father!” his mother exclaimed with a big smile, clapping her hands together.

Ed scowled as only a child could. “I don’t want his stupid quirk.”

“Oh, Edward,” his mother said gently, crouching down in front of him, “I think it’s sweet that you can share this with him.”

“I can’t share  _anything_  with him. He’s _gone_.” Ed folded his arms across his chest. “I want your quirk.”

His mother frowned sadly and touched his face gently. She had such soft, delicate hands that made him feel loved and safe. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Then she smiled, drawing warmth into their little space. “Besides, it’s not really his quirk. It’s yours. You have the power to use it however you want. You can do anything with it.”

Ed thought for a moment. From what he remembered of his dad before the man left, his quirk had been really strong. He could do a lot with it, probably even more than Ed knew or had seen. It was a quirk that could benefit a hero. It was a quirk that could save life too, like as his mom’s did, just in a different way. Before people got hurt.

“Anything?” Ed asked.

She nodded her head. “Anything.”

“Become a pro hero?”

His mom laughed and ruffled his hair. “The absolute best. Maybe even better than All Might one day.”

“Oh no,” Ed said very seriously, shaking his head. “No one can beat All Might. He’s number one!”

Standing up a little, his mom leaned over to kiss the top of his head and he let her. He was getting bigger now and he needed to be strong for his little brother. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be too old for kid stuff. For now though, he let his mom do what she wanted. “You can do anything that you put your mind to, Ed, and I’ll always be right behind to support you and Alphonse.”

Ed beamed at that and looked down at the metal bowl in his hands. He concentrated super hard on it until the bowl flattened into a disc and reflected his face like a mirror.

*

It was a terrible irony that, when his mother became ill, she could not save herself with her quirk. It was out of reach, past her limit, beyond her strengths.

And Ed pushed himself even harder, forcing his quirk further each time in an attempt to do just as she’d told him he could. He could do anything. He would do anything. He’d be the number one hero. He’d save people’s lives and protect them and make his brother happy. He’d do it all.

*

All Ed had been trying to do was practice with his quirk. He did it every day. By the time he could apply to a hero school, he’d be a pro at using his quirk. There would barely be any need for him to take strength classes to improve his skills. He was certain of it.

He and Al worked together every day. It helped that their quirks complemented each other. Al could turn his skin into armor, but not only that. It was like he became an actual suit of armor, his body taller and wider and much stronger as well. Ed’s ability to manipulate metal had caused a few issues before, but he made sure to put Al back into place before he transformed back into his human form.

Any metal that he brushed with his fingertips twisted at his will. It was an incredible power, one that he got used to over time to the point that it became second nature to him. Small metals were nothing. He could manipulate those in his sleep. Metals his size were a little more difficult, but he’d learned to manage them over time. What he wanted to work on was something larger, something way out of his comfort zone. The old sheet metal barn behind their house that had been long abandoned would work nicely.

“I don’t know, brother,” Al said nervously behind him. “You could really strain your quirk and hurt yourself.”

“No way,” Ed replied. “If it’s past my quirk limit, then nothing will happen.”

Al frowned. “But what if you start and then can’t control it?”

“Then I just stop.” Ed turned to face his brother, who still didn’t look convinced. They were standing outside of the barn now. It was getting close to dusk and he wanted to try this. He’d been itching to try it all week, but had been too busy with school. Now it was the weekend and he had all the time in the world. “It’ll be fine. Dont worry.”

“Can’t you at least stand outside instead of inside?” Al asked. “It sounds safer.”

Ed shook his head and opened the door. “It’ll be easier to control my quirk from the inside, trust me.”

And Al did, but he still didn’t look like he liked the idea. At the last minute, he followed Ed inside. He did want to see what it looked like and besides, if something did go wrong, he could use his quirk and transform into armor so that he could shield Ed from any of the fallout. Ed might’ve been his big brother that he admired a lot, but they protected each other. That was how it had worked since their mom passed away.

When, of course, things did go wrong – when Ed’s quirk failed him halfway – when the metal he was trying to bend his will got bent out of shape and he lost control – when everything bad that could happen did happen – Al screamed for his brother. Ed was still trying to use his quirk to stop the metal from screaming and shattering around them, but his quirk had reached its limit and would no longer listen. Eventually, the fight went out of him completely and he collapsed.

Al changed into his armored form, unable to feel as metal fell on top of his shoulders and back. By the time he was able to reach Ed, large pieces of rubble had fallen on top of him. Al knew that it was just as bad as it looked – that the damage was worse than either of them could have imagined – but he shielded Ed from any further damage. Once the barn was done fighting, barely anything left of it, Al pushed out of the metal debris and slowly began to excavate his brother.

It was a miracle that his brother was breathing, but then Al saw the state of Ed’s body and knew. They weren’t out of the water just yet. There was too much blood and two of his limbs hung in an unnatural way that might’ve made him throw up if he wasn’t armor. Nothing was going to be the same. He picked up his brother’s broken body and ran to the nearest house. The Rockbells were a good sort. He and Ed were close friends with their girl, Winry, and it was only by chance that her grandma was the small town’s doctor.

Al couldn’t manage tears in his armored form, but the second that he changed back into his skin, he felt them burn his eyes.

The pain hit him a second later, so powerful that he buckled to his knees and then fell flat on his face. His entire body ached with the kind of pain that came from a severe beating, something he’d never felt before. It was like at least five bones in his body had been broken. He rolled onto his back, wrapping his arms around his ribs, and groaned loudly. His whole being felt like one large bruise.

Winry was on him the moment she stepped back into the room where they’d taken Ed. “Al! What’s wrong?”

“I…” Al sucked in a gasp of air. It hurt to talk. It hurt to breathe. “The barn… It collapsed on us.”

“But you were in your armored form, right?” Winry asked. “You can’t get hurt then.”

“N-no, I didn’t think so–” The pain made him feel dizzy. He’d never felt like this before. Every time he’d been in his armored form, nothing had been able to hurt him. Granted, they hadn’t tested it more than hitting him with a metal rod or something like that, nothing on par with a metal building collapsing on top of him.

A quirk limit. He had found his own tonight. His eyes drifted to the door the moment he heard Ed’s screams of pain. They both had. But at what cost?

*

“Your sidekick?” Riza frowned. Her eyes were closed as she leaned against the wall of a plushly decorated room. The office was growing larger every day. She didn’t doubt that it would rival Endeavor’s in the future, which she thought was half the point. “Don’t you have plenty of those already?”

“Okay, okay, not a sidekick – a partner.”

When Riza opened her eyes, she stared back into the face of one Roy Mustang. He was sitting at his desk, leaning in his chair and feet propped up with his hands behind his head, looking extraordinarily casual. He wasn’t even wearing his pro hero costume, sticking with a pair of black slacks and a white button up shirt. There was a cheeky grin on his face, but despite his flippant appearance, she knew that he was being dead serious.

“A partner. Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely positive.” His hands fell from his head and he pulled his feet off his desk. “I trust no one more.” The grin fell from his face; the serious glint in his eyes did not. “You of all people know what I’m capable of. I would feel much more at ease knowing you’ve got my back.”

The words struck a chord inside of her heart. She did know what he was capable of – more than anything – but she also thought she knew who he was too, maybe better than he did. He might have come off as arrogant and even careless, but behind the bravado was a man who still desperately wanted to be a hero even when he was one in the eyes of the public already. He wanted to do good; he wanted to save people. He wanted to make up for all the wrongs he’d done. She didn’t know if he could do that, at least not in his mind.

“You’re not that boy anymore, you know,” Riza told him, not moving from her spot against the wall. A part of her wanted to walk over to him, step around the desk and grab his hands. She wanted to touch his face, look him square in the eyes, and make him believe her. She didn’t lie very often and she certainly wouldn’t to him. They had seen too much of each other as it was to do that.

But she didn’t move and neither did he.

“I’ll always be that boy,” Roy told her in a simple, accepting tone. “I will always have to live with what I did. All I can do is hope that the work I do now will outweigh it in the end.”

“You were sixteen, Roy. You can’t hold that over yourself forever; I don’t.”

A shadow fell over his face, one of insecurity and guilt, two things that he very rarely showed anyone. She thought that she might be one of five surviving people that had seen that look on his face. He looked down at his hands. It had been years since that night, but she could still see that same look on his face back then, only it had been more intense. “I will always have to worry if they were right about me.”

“I don’t worry about that,” Riza said. “You’re a hero, plain and simple. You save lives and protect people.”

A small smile crossed his face, not the kind that he showed the camera or the public, but the one that he reserved for her alone. “With you by my side, I won’t have to either.” She returned the smile, unable to stop herself. He always managed to bring such warmth out of her, despite everything. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to though. I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position. But…will you follow me?”

“You have to ask?” Riza gave him a look and he let out a chuckle. “I expect equal compensation if we’re partners.”

“But I’m more famous than you,” Roy pointed out, as if he hadn’t been drowning just seconds ago. That was the thing about him. He was so excellent at hiding behind a quick grin and smart quips. Some people had wondered if he didn’t have some sort of charm quirk, but it had never worked on her entirely.

“Equal compensation.”

Roy sighed and fell back in his chair, swiveling around in a circle. “You drive a hard bargain, Hawk’s Eye.” He leaned forward suddenly, a very intent look in his eyes and a growing smirk on her face that caused her to narrow her eyes. She did not like that look at all. “Now, about that costume of yours…”

“I’m not changing it,” Riza told him flatly.

“But you’re completely covered up!” Roy complained, though she knew he was joking. For the most part. “And it’s not tight at all. You’re hiding some of your best attributes.”

Riza rolled her eyes. “My entire quirk depends on being armed. Running around in some tight, skimpy outfit is not going to cut it.” She turned around to open the door and then stopped to look back at him. “And the uniform that you sketched out for me while we were at UA was terrible.”

He shrugged his shoulders, looking terribly pleased with himself. It had been absurd. That skirt had to have been illegal. She’d hit him so hard with a perfectly aimed book to the chest that he’d fallen backwards over Aizawa’s desk, the other student doing nothing to stop her.

“Just so you know, you’re breaking the hearts of men everywhere!” Roy called after her with a laugh.

“Gladly!” Riza responded. Nonetheless, as she walked down the hallway, she couldn’t help but feel lighter despite all the weapons on her person. She was still working at another agency until the paperwork was drawn and she wasn’t about to shirk her job now. She had a patrol to do. Hopefully things would be quiet as they had been. If not, well, she never missed her shot.

*

The whole point of building up his quirk so much was to go to UA and now there was a chance that he couldn’t go. After everything that he had done, after all that he’d gone through, after all that he’d sacrificed, and he couldn’t even be for sure that he’d accepted. He had fought and pushed and kicked some serious ass (mostly his own while training his quirk) and now he was stuck waiting.

“You’ll be accepted,” Winry told him. “Don’t worry so much.”

“Easy for you to say,” Ed grumbled, sinking further down in his seat and folding his arms across his chest. “You’ve already been accepted.”

Winry did her best to look apologetic, but it was hard to do so when her excitement was bleeding through. She had applied for the support course, which was a hell of a lot easier to get accepted into than the hero course. He would not settle for anything less and if was put in lower than the A class he would probably freak out. He was happy for her – he really was – but he didn’t know what he’d do if Winry or Al got in and he didn’t. Probably try to break in and attend the classes anyways.

“You’re going to get in,” Winry insisted. “Your quirk is incredible and you’re so skilled with it!”

Normally, Ed was never insecure about his quirk. After his initial dislike of it because he had inherited it from his father, his mom had taught him to embrace it and make it his own. He had more than done that, especially after his mom passed away. He was powerful and could take anyone on in a fight. Instead of just lounging around and only focusing on his quirk, he had trained his body as well. Some people didn’t realize that a strong body meant a strong quirk.

When it came to UA though, he found himself floundering where he’d never done it before. What if he wasn’t good enough? The school was the top hero school in the world. You could get accepted into taking the exam and then get kicked out the next day for not passing it. No one knew what the exam was either because former students never talked about it. Winry was in already. He hadn’t even gotten through the door yet.

“What if…?” Ed did not like to go down this route. He actively avoided it as much as he could. The metal leg and arm prosthetics that he wore would not let him though. He had come out of the accident alive by no small means, but he’d lost those limbs in the process.

It was only thanks to Winry and her grandmother that he was able to walk around. Winry was able to create robotics that could be controlled by the mind. He could run and kick a ball and punch and hold hands just like any other kid, but the heavier weight of each prosthetic was a constant reminder of what he’d done. He had been so foolish, so arrogant, so stupid to believe that he was greater than his quirk. Every person had a limit. He’d forgot one of his mother’s first lessons and it had cost him dearly. If not for Winry’s quirk, his dream of becoming a hero would’ve been dashed away forever.

“People make mistakes all the time,” Winry told him quietly as she picked up the small robotic dog that was trying to jump onto the couch with them. She’d created it years ago, but whenever she wanted comfort, it would always come running to her, just as surely as he would if she called him. “Especially with their quirks.”

“I could’ve killed Al,” Ed said. “That’s not very hero-like.”

“But you didn’t.”

“And what if they– I mean, what if I’m–” Ed held out his metal hand, clenching it and unclenching it. He could still remember the first time the arm had been attached to him. It had been so incredibly painful, as if a bright light was being turned on in his mind, and suddenly it was just  _there_ , like it had always been a part of him. She had done that. He didn’t think it made him any lesser, but his opinion wasn’t as important as the professors at UA.

A fierce look crossed Winry’s face. “If they think for a second that your arm and leg are going to hold you back, then they’re seriously wrong and missing out on something!” She harrumphed and sat up straight. “Plus, that is some of my best work. They’d be stupid to pass on you. Just kick that entrance exam’s butt when you get there!”

Ed couldn’t help but laugh, despite feeling like there was a hole in the pit of his stomach. She wasn’t wrong though. It was some of her best work. It had saved his life; it had saved everything that there was about him. Because of her, he could become a hero – he would become a hero – and in his eyes, she already was a hero.


	3. Hopeful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakugou makes an enemy; Deku makes a friend; and Bakugou and Todoroki have mixed feelings about their new teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks and blessings to severalsunlitmornings on tumblr for being my beta! It's the first time that I've had one. Normally ya'll get stuck with my "first draft is the final draft" shit. Anywho, it's time for our kids to meet. Yes, I know this isn't exactly how it goes in the anime/manga, but I don't want to just copy and paste scenes. (And I hadn't rewatched the episode yet when I wrote this sooo yeah.) This is my first time writing Deku and wow I love him. Also, I intentionally skipped the actual Entrance Exam because I will be showing it from Roy's POV in the 5th chapter while he watches it with the teachers. Have fun!

Bakugou could not fucking believe that Deku was taking the entrance exam. He couldn’t believe it. What the fuck was wrong with that kid? He was going to get killed and Bakugou was going to laugh about it. In fact, if not for the fact that they would be taking the exam in separate groups, he would’ve beat the hell out of the idiot just to prove how dumb he was.

Even worse, despite the fact that Bakugou clearly didn’t want anything to do with Deku and didn’t want him around, the idiot was upbeat despite looking nervous. “You’re going to do great, Kacchan!”

“Of course I am,” Bakugou growled. “Just stay out of my way like the damn extra you are.”

“Would you stop being a dick for no reason?” a boy with braided golden hair snapped. He was sitting in front of them, but had leaned back in his seat to glare at Bakugou.

If he hadn’t been so taken off guard by the fact that some little shit had actually snapped at him like that, he would’ve rocketed out of his seat and strangled the kid. Who the fuck was he? Bakugou bounced back quickly, slamming forward in his seat so that the legs of the chair made a loud cracking noise. “Why don’t you mind your own fucking business?” The boy rolled his equally golden eyes. “And get a different hairstyle. You look like a girl.”

“Better than looking like a jackass,” the boy responded. He pointed a gloved finger at Bakugou. “You better stay out of  _ my _ way or I’ll sock you right in the jaw.”

Bakugou gripped the table tightly and pushed himself up, half standing and half ready to launch himself right over to pummel him. “And how do you expect to do that? You couldn’t even reach my face!”

Like flipping a switch, the boy jumped to his feet, red-faced and infuriated, and growled, “Are you calling me short?”

“Should’ve called you an idiot too!” Bakugou shot back.

The boy looked like he might actually implode. He pushed back his sleeves and Bakugou stood up straight to meet him head-on. He’d been itching for a fight ever since finding out that Deku was taking the entrance exam. He didn’t mind beating up some nobody to get one. At least maybe this kid would put up an okay fight unlike Deku.

“NO FIGHTING!” an amplified voice exploded, knocking both Bakugou and the golden-haired boy to the ground. Bakugou fell hard on his back and neck, having tripped over his chair, while the boy went down face first. In his temper, he’d forgotten about Present Mic. Stupid asshole.

While dragging himself back to his feet, Bakugou caught sight of Deku leaning over to help the other boy up and “tch”ed. He didn’t need any help. He dropped back in his seat, matching the glare that the golden boy shot at him, and then looked away from them, kicking them out of his mind.

Whatever. If Deku needed someone to stand up for him now, there was no way that he’d be able to make it through the exam. And with what quirk? Why were they letting him take the exam anyways? And he doubted that that golden-haired freak had a decent quirk. He sounded like the kind of person that overreacted so that they had to make up for something. He probably wasn’t strong at all and just tried to come off like that.

By the time everyone began to leave the auditorium, he and Deku were already conversing excitedly with each other. Bakugou shook his head. Let the weak ones pair up. It would make them easier to weed out. He was stronger than both of them put together and he wouldn’t even consider them during the exam. This was his time to shine. He was going to be number one.

*

Izuku knew that he was being annoying and talking way too much, but he couldn’t stop himself if he tried. Seeing everyone’s quirks in action during the entrance exam had been incredible. It might not have felt so incredible after it had ended, what with two broken legs and a broken arm, but he was here and it was worth it. It was all worth it. He was going to become a hero, just like All Might, and even more amazing was that he’d get to do it alongside others with the same goal.

It had been difficult to make friends when he had been quirkless. Izuku thought he had been likable enough, but Kacchan’s constant berating made everyone wary to get close to him, as if they might suffer the same wrath, and despite his antagonistic behavior, other kids looked up to Kacchan because of his strong quirk and confidence. Quirkless and obsessed with quirks, Izuku had been an outsider no matter how nice he was.

But not here. Not at U.A. It was his first day and he was fitting in. He couldn’t stop thinking about how Uraraka had stood up for him and asked if she could transfer some of her well-earned points to him so that he could still be accepted. One day and already someone thought he was hero material.

Still, quirk or not, old habits would never die and his excitement about everyone’s quirks was overflowing.

“Your quirk is so strong!” Izuku exclaimed, forcing himself to sit at his desk. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Sitting at a desk beside him with his feet propped up on the table, Ed shrugged his shoulders. “I practiced a lot with it growing up -- wanted to make sure I was good and ready when it was time to apply here.”

Not for the first time, Izuku wished that he’d had more time to strengthen himself before receiving All for One and any time at all to practice it. Having to use it for the first time during the entrance exam had almost killed him. It was worth it though. Seeing people with such power over their quirk though both amazed and discouraged him. He was going to fight as hard as humanly possible and then some, but practice was important and he couldn’t use his without injuring himself.

“You just--” Izuku waved his hands in the air. “All you had to do was touch those robots and transformed them into useless piles of garbage!”

He could still recall the shock at seeing Ed, who was admittedly even shorter than Izuku, running straight up to one of those machines and jumping out of the way of its attack. The second he touched it, instead of floating it like Uraraka’s zero gravity quirk had done, the metal had twisted and shaped itself into a rather ugly duck no longer capable of moving.

“I made a lot of metal statues back home,” Ed said.

Must not have been very good ones. The robots had turned into rather tacky metal statues. Izuku did not say that out loud though. Ed was extremely talented, just not at art. Everyone had their weakness.

“And then you used the rubble caused by others from destroying the robots to create a weapon!” Izuku continued, thinking back to the long metal pole that Ed had fashioned in order to pierce through the robot’s weak spots. “Your quirk is really versatile and excellent for urban combat.”

Ed nodded his head, suddenly looking distracted as he rubbed his right arm. Izuku had noticed that Ed tended to favor his left and that his right seemed to hang a little more...limply, but he didn’t say anything. Maybe it was an old injury or had something to do with his quirk. Under his uniform, it looked like just another arm, though Izuku also noticed that Ed wore gloves as well while no one else did. Had he been wearing them during the entrance exam? Izuku couldn’t remember.

Then, Ed grinned at him. “You were the one that took out that zero point robot. It was massive!”

Unable to stop himself, Izuku flushed. “Yeah, but I wasn’t really thinking and the blow back was...bad.”

“I would think so after punching the shit out of that thing,” Ed pointed out with a snort. “Everyone else was so focused on fighting that we didn’t think about saving. It was a good reminder of why we’re here.”

Izuku smiled brightly. Out of all the things that could’ve been said to him, that had to be the best. He was here to become a hero, just like everyone else, and to be a reminder of that, well… It made him think of All Might -- of how he was symbol of peace and reminded people that they could be heroes in their everyday lives. He thought, for a moment, that maybe he truly was worthy of All Might’s power, as long as he could live up to this.

“Oy, would you two get a fucking room?” Kacchan snapped from behind them.

Ed jerked his feet down from his desk and swiveled around to glare heatedly, but before he could get a word out, Izuku waved him down. “It’s okay, really.”

After another beat of glaring, matched equally by Kacchan, Ed slowly turned back to face Izuku, although there was still a small scowl on his face. “What’s his problem anyways? I mean, he’s an asshole for sure, but it’s like he goes out of his way to be one to you.”

“We grew up together,” Izuku said mildly. He didn’t want a fight to break out into class. One had already happened the second he’d stepped into the classroom and Kacchan had spotted him. He knew that it would be bound to happen, but if he could prolong the inevitable knock out fight between Kacchan and Ed, he would. Both of them were too hot-headed for their own good. “He just wants to be the best and he’s used to being it.”

“Yeah, well, a lot of us want to,” Ed grumbled, “but everyone has that moment that knocks us down a peg.”

It wasn’t the words so much as the look on his face when Ed said them that made Izuku think that Ed had already gone through that moment in his life. Izuku wasn’t sure if he had or not. He wanted to think that his entire life being quirkless had been one big rock bottom, but maybe the true test of his metal would come after. Maybe he would find himself now that he was climbing to the top.

It was a scary but inspiring thought.

And then, almost as an afterthought, Izuku wondered what that moment might look like for Kacchan when it came.

*

Bakugou hadn’t exactly been sure what to expect of his classes at U.A. He’d had a good idea, but even he knew that the school was going to do everything in its power to throw them off balance. A hero’s journey was never straight, no matter how badly he wanted to get to the top. Having his first teacher slink into the classroom in a bright yellow sleeping bag had been strange. Hearing that the All Might was going to be one of their teachers was a shock to the system that he was still trying to wrap his mind around and didn’t quite believe.

Then, after reporting outside to one of the many fields for their next class as they had been told, the Flame Alchemist himself showed up.

There was no way that Bakugou was going to lose his cool in front of everyone else. He clenched his jaw so that his mouth wouldn’t open and dug his nails into the palms of his hands so he didn’t fidget. But there he was, the pro hero that Bakugou had watched carefully since he was eight years-old. The man wasn’t wearing his costume, so he didn’t think that everyone recognized him, but it wouldn’t have mattered to Bakugou.

He saw the slight grin, the smooth swagger with every step, the hands in his pockets that said at ease -- all of it wrapped in the air that gave off a hint of danger. Bakugou had been studying the hero for years. He didn’t need a mask or costume to spot his hero. Just as he did on the screen, the Flame Alchemist gave off an undeniable aura of confidence. Every step looked both casual and pointed. All of their eyes were drawn to him until finally he was standing right in front of them.

“Sorry for being late,” the Flame Alchemist greeted, pulling one gloved hand out of his pockets to wave cheerfully at them. “School was never my thing.”

“You’re our other new teacher?” Engine Legs asked, sounding slightly skeptical.

“Do I not look it?” the Flame Alchemist asked, sounding more amused than anything else. He had just shown up and they were already questioning him.

How did these idiots not know who this was? Bakugou looked around at everyone else, noting their faces. Some looked like they might’ve recognized him, but most wore blank faces. Only Half and Half Bastard had given a reaction, tensing his body and dropping his eyes to the ground.

Braid boy folded his arms across his chest. “If school isn’t your thing, then why are you teaching us?”

A small ball of fire, nothing to be afraid of, burst at Braid boy’s feet, causing him to jump and the Flame Alchemist actually laughed. It almost made Bakugou laugh too, just seeing that idiot jump like that, reminding him of how Deku would react towards Bakugou’s explosions. The fire got everyone’s attention though. It was only a small show of power, not even a blip on the radar when it came to the depth of the Flame Alchemist’s quirk, but now everyone was looking at him with wide eyes.

“Y-you’re the Flame Alchemist!” Deku exclaimed. Well, of course, dipshit. Everyone already knew that now.

The hero shrugged his shoulders. “Mustang is fine at school.”

Finally, a name to the man. For years, Bakugou had only known him by his hero name. Sometimes, you could find out a hero’s identity, especially if they had the creativity of a spoon and used their real names, but for however flashy and outgoing that the Flame Alchemist was, he left a lot to be desired when it came to who he was behind the mask. People that were able to get into the school and hero records might know, but the general public was left in the dark.

Bakugou couldn’t believe that the Flame Alchemist -- no, Mustang -- was actually here. He was in casual clothes, something that Bakugou had only seen a handful of times when a reporter managed to capture a picture of him out and about on his off days. He was notorious for evading cameras and reporters in public when not working, even if he hogged them when he was on duty. Hawk’s Eye was with him half of the time in those pictures, somehow looking no less threatening than when she was in costume. Besides, Bakugou doubted that she was never  _ not _ armed and Mustang didn’t need his costume to use his quirk.

They saw that now as he looked like a man you might see at a fancy restaurant and not a pro hero. Bakugou knew what he was capable of; he’d seen and studied all the footage.

“Lesson number one and two,” Mustang told them. “As a hero, you’re going to end up doing a lot of things you might not necessarily like in order to do what’s best.” He moved his hand again and, while he didn’t jump again, Bakugou saw Braid boy twitch a bit in anticipation for another blast of fire. Mustang just smiled. “And always be on your guard. That was nothing. Villains won’t be kind and so therefore neither will I. If you want a pat on the back, you can go to All Might, but in my class, I expect you to fight back or suffer the consequences and they will be quite unpleasant.”

While the rest of the class murmured with each other, Bakugou smirked. This was going to be fun.

*

Todoroki had tried not to react when he saw the Flame Alchemist walking towards them, but it had been difficult when he’d realized why the man was here. He was going to be their teacher. All he could do was picture his father bursting into flames upon realizing that the two heroes he loathed the most were now his son’s teachers. He couldn’t help but wonder if Endeavor knew or if he would find out later. It would not be a pretty sight either way.

If there was one person that his father hated more than All Might, it was the Flame Alchemist. At least his anger towards All Might was tangible, what with him being always one step above him as the number one hero, but his hatred of Mustang was incomprehensible. It didn’t make any sense. As far as Todoroki could tell, there was no specific reason that his father hated the other hero so much. It was just  _ there _ .

A strange thrill ran up Todoroki’s spine. He couldn’t tell whether it was dread or excitement. On one hand, he knew that Mustang was an incredibly powerful hero and would be an excellent teacher in helping everyone learn to use their quirk in combat situation. Well, the others that didn’t have the same training his father forced on him since he was five. Still, Todoroki thought he could learn from Mustang. He was quick and clever, known for using his quirk in creative ways.

On the other hand… Todoroki watched the small ball of fire explode and startle Edward Elric. It was so brief that most would forget it quickly, but the sight of that fire burned in Todoroki’s mind. And he was afraid.

He thought back to the promise he’d made his father before he left for U.A. He would not use the half of his quirk that he had inherited from his old man. Using the ice quirk that he’d inherited from his mother, he would become a hero and he would beat his father with that alone. He would not use the half of his quirk that destroyed and tore their family apart. He would use nothing that he gained from his father.

But would Mustang try to pry it out of him? Would he try to force Todoroki to use his fire quirk? Would he look down on him?

It didn’t matter if Endeavor had never said anything. The moment their paths crossed five years ago, Todoroki had known that Mustang knew what his quirk was just by looking at him.  _ “You went and did it,” _ Mustang’s words to his father rang in Todoroki’s mind. He’d known what his father had done -- what he’d created. It wouldn’t take long for Mustang to notice that Todoroki almost solely used his ice quirk and never once produced flames.

Did he understand that too? Did he know what Todoroki was doing?

He prepared to be seen right through as Mustang surveyed the class, but his eyes landed on Todoroki for only a second and then moved on to the next student. Without realizing that he’d tensed up, Todoroki’s body relaxed the moment he wasn’t being scrutinized. It would appear to everyone that Mustang didn’t recognize him, but that wasn’t possible. His hair, his scar, his eyes all marked him for who he was. The Flame Alchemist remembered, but he wasn’t acting on it.

Todoroki wasn’t sure what that meant. Maybe it meant that Mustang would treat him the same as every student and not the son of the man who hated his very being. Good. That was good. The last thing Todoroki wanted was any special treatment because of who his father was. He just wanted to be treated like himself. He would always remember the way Mustang had spoken to him, like he was a completely separate person from his father. He had been kind to Todoroki even when Endeavor had been cruel to him.

_ That was a hero, _ Todoroki had thought back then.

Mustang’s words now sounded like they were meant to provoke everyone. His trick with the fire had clearly done the job in provoking Edward. It wasn’t very hero-like, but then the teachers at U.A. weren’t here to coddle or nurture them. They were here to push each student to their limit and beyond in order to become the best heroes that they could be. Mustang had gone through the same thing as a student here, like All Might and Endeavor, just as Todoroki and his classmates would.

All throughout the class, Todoroki only used his ice quirk and he could’ve sworn that Mustang was watching him closely, his gaze sharp enough to slice through a rock, but whenever he glanced back, the teacher was focusing on someone else. Todoroki shook his head, sweat dripping from his hair. Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe he was so preoccupied with worry that he was making things up. He didn’t want to be seen like that. He just wanted to be seen as himself.

When class was dismissed and they all dragged their tired and sore bodies back inside, Todoroki took one last glance back at their new teacher and was caught off guard upon connecting eyes with him. Mustang put two of his fingers to his temple and flicked them forward, the same gesture he had done upon saying goodbye to Todoroki when they’d first crossed paths on the street five years ago. Except this time, instead of saying goodbye, the gesture said,  _ I remember. _

But Todoroki didn’t know what that meant either and it made him wary. And he hated that feeling.


	4. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Roy receives call from his old mentor/principal and gets a job offer and Riza and Roy have a discussion about family ties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where I start really diving deep into the characters' backstory. I'm so excited for Roy and Riza in this. I've got this huge epic backstory for them, but of course I can't jump into it right away. I got so carried away writing for Roy that the next two chapters are all from his POV. We get to learn a lot more about him and how he ties in with many other characters. Riza also gets a subplot that I'm having a lot of fun with that connects her with a character outside of Roy. There is no Grumman in this universe, but I found, quite accidentally, that Principal Nezu fit the role of Roy's mentor perfectly.

It was nearing on nine when Roy’s phone rang. He didn’t tear his eyes from the file in front of him, which he had been knee deep in for the better part of the week. It had taken a lot of convincing to get ahold of the police file, seeing as how he was a pro hero and not a cop, but luckily, Detective Falman was sympathetic to Roy’s cause and snuck him a copy. Heroes were supposed to stop crime, but some excelled in detective work as well and helped out the police when they could.

Few people outside of the police knew of Roy’s talent in investigating. He had started offering his services a year after moving back, keeping it quiet. The hero work was the flashy part of him, the side that the public saw. This kind of work was diligent and private.

Except this wasn’t a part of work. This wasn’t one of the cases the police had asked him to consult on. This was personal and he wanted to keep it that way.

So deep in his thoughts about the file, Roy didn’t notice when the phone stopped ringing, but when it started up again a few minutes later, he sighed and finally reached over to pick up his cell. He furrowed his brow at the screen, noting that the call was coming from a private number and one that he thought he might’ve recognized but didn’t remember. Maybe it was a cop or another pro hero.

Sliding the answer button over, Roy pressed the phone to his ear and leaned back on his couch, his eyes drifting to the ceiling in exhaustion.. “Who is this?”

“That’s not the greeting from the charming young man I remember,” the voice on the other end answered.

Roy bolted forward, fully awake. “Principal Nezu.”

His heart dropped into his stomach. There were few out there that could send Roy into a thinking frenzy. He normally had the upper hand and if he didn’t he changed the dynamics so that he would. The principal of his former high school, however, was one of those very few that had almost always managed to best Roy. He was the one who had taught Roy how to think on his feet and ahead of villains; he was the one who had taught Roy how to outthink his opponents before beating them.

He was also the one who had held Roy’s entire hero career in his hand all those years ago. Roy would never be able to forget the look in the principal’s eyes as he sat behind his desk, the expulsion paperwork sitting untouched in front of him. He didn’t have that power over Roy anymore, but it was hard to let go of.

“I should’ve known that you would recognize me immediately,” Nezu replied cheerfully.

It was impossible to forget. Nezu was as memorable as they came. He could still picture one of his exams where he’d been pitted against the principal. It had been a hard battle, but he had won. The triumph of outwitting him had tasted bitter when it had been for his...extracurricular activities.

_ You’re not that boy anymore, _ Riza’s voice told him in his mind.

Roy shook his head, clearing his mind as best as he could. “I’ve gotta say; you’re one of the last voices I expected to hear.” He heard Nezu chuckle on the other end. He was so playful and passionate about education that it was sometimes hard to remember how cold and cruel he could be when it was called for. Roy never forgot though. “No one is quite as sharp as you.”

“Flattery, Mustang,” Nezu said. “There’s the student I was so fond of.”

“Fond?” Roy couldn’t believe it. Maybe at one point but certainly not by the end of his time at U.A. They must have been relieved to see him graduate and leave the city.

“Oh, there were definitely times when I thought you might be more trouble than you were worth,” Nezu told him in that matter-of-fact tone that only an educator could manage. “But I haven’t found anyone that's near as good of a chess opponent. Aizawa complains half the time; Yamada is a sore loser; and Kamaya tries to cheat.”

“Not very hero-like,” Roy mused.

Nezu clicked his tongue. “Apparently they don’t think it’s fair to play against me. I always win.”

“Never stopped me before.”

“That’s because you were relentless in your desire to beat me,” Nezu replied. There were things left unsaid, of course, like the fact that his tenacious spirit had dampened after the Incident and Nezu had dragged it out of him. To his day, Roy still wasn’t sure why Nezu fought so much with him -- for him -- but he was grateful. If not for the principal, he wouldn’t be where he was today. He might’ve been in prison or dead or become something even worse.

Roy took a breath and sank further into the couch. “Not that I don’t mind reminiscing, sir, but I doubt you called me in the middle of the night to ask me play chess.”

“No, I did not,” Nezu confirmed. “Actually I’m in need of some assistance.”

That made Roy jolt upright. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course, of course, it’s nothing extreme,” Nezu reassured him. Roy slowly eased back on the couch, but he didn’t relax. If Nezu was asking him for help, then it was more serious than he was letting on. “Why don’t you stop by my office tomorrow so we can talk? Have a bit of tea, maybe play a game of chess. If you’re not busy.”

Roy looked back down at the file in front of him. The papers had been spread across the table, every inch of it covered in witness statements, reports, and gruesome photos. He’d been just as relentless in pouring over them as Nezu had suggested he was. “No, I’m not busy. Is there any specific time?”

“Noon is fine with me,” Nezu told him. “I like to have these sorts of chats over food.” Roy didn’t need to be in the same room as him to see the smile spreading across his face. “I’m sure you remember what I like to eat and where my office is located.”

Roy did know where his office was -- he’d been in it more times than most teachers -- and he should have known that Nezu would rope him into buying food. Still, he agreed without any complaint and then said goodbye. He dropped the phone back on the coffee table and sank back, pushing his fingers through his hair and leaving them there.

What did Nezu want? What kind of help did he require that he’d called Roy and not one of his teachers? Just the thought of stepping foot back into that school twisted his stomach into knots. He’d never thought he would go back. They had all but kicked him out, allowing him to graduate but under strict rules. It was why he was so familiar with Nezu. He had seen more of the principal in that last year than any other teacher.

And now he was going back. For what? A friendly conversation? A game of chess?

No, Nezu was playing a game, close to the vest, but it wasn’t chess. It rarely ever was. Roy had been a gamble that Nezu had taken and he would be eternally grateful to the hero. He owed Nezu his life. He had never planned on going back -- to be honest, he didn’t think that anyone would want him there -- but if it was Nezu, then he would do whatever was asked of him. He knew that it would be for a good cause.

But what? Roy grabbed his phone again and flipped through it until he found Riza’s number. He almost hit the dial button and then hesitated. It was late. She had to get up at four a.m. for her patrol. He clicked the phone off and dropped it at his side. He wouldn’t bother her right now. Tomorrow after his talk with Nezu, he would swing by the office and talk with her. There was nothing to be said right now. After he knew what was going on. He told himself to speak with her.

He was already keeping this file a secret from her and they’d promised never to lie to each other once again.

*

U.A. was massive. Roy had forgotten just how much of a fortress the school campus was. Still, after being granted permission to come on the grounds, he knew exactly where he was going. Some things had been changed, updated by teachers as time passed, but the hallways had that same feel. Hopeful yet grueling. The path to become a hero was a hard one that not everyone could take and it started in these hallways.

Being lunch, most of the kids were in the cafeteria. A few wandered the halls, going to the library, getting some extra time in the gym, or running outside since it was a nice day, but for the most part, they let him alone. A student here or there might have eyed him curiously, especially since he was carrying a bag of takeout, but no one talked to him.

Thankfully he didn’t run into any of the teachers either. Roy would’ve preferred facing a villain than seeing one of them right now.

Once outside the principal’s office, Roy knocked on the door and waited to hear Nezu call, “Come in!” Stepping inside and shutting the door behind himself,  he waved the takeout in the air and Nezu took a large sniff. “Ah, you  _ did _ remember! Such good memory.”

“Not as good as yours,” Roy pointed out as he walked further into the office and set the takeout on Nezu’s desk. “I used to get so mad when you’d point out that I’d made the same move four games before.”

Nezu grinned almost viciously. “I had to teach you somehow. You were a nightmare student.”

In more ways than one. But Roy knew that Nezu wasn’t referring to the Incident and just about Roy as a student in general. He  _ had _ been a nightmare. Too clever for his own good, too confident in his quirk, too stubborn to listen to anyone he considered below him. It had taken some time, but his rough edges had been smoothed out eventually and he had learned the value of teamwork. He had still been a terrible student. Having been so obsessed with becoming strong, he’d always studied ahead, which aggravated his teachers when he considered their classes behind him.

It had taken someone who could look ahead to deal with him and someone that could still remember the idealistic, hopeful, enthusiastic boy that he had been upon first joining U.A. before he’d been twisted into a hateful, angry, and pained version of himself.

As they set up their plates, Nezu began a steady stream of conversation, just as Roy remembered he would. “I’ve seen you on television and the internet. You have done quite well for yourself, even have your own agency. I heard that it’s considered one of the most progressive out there.”

“I like to keep an open mind,” Roy put in mildly.

Nezu ‘tsked.’ “Modesty has never befitted you, Mustang.”

Which was true. He had been a confident child, probably because of the way people had talked about how strong his quirk was after his training under Riza’s father and it had gotten worse as he’d grown into a teenager and he’d become smarter. It had all gone to his head. Even now, he knew that many of the other pro heroes considered him to be arrogant and cocky. It didn’t faze him. It made villains underestimate him every time despite his record.

“What did they call it? Innovative. Yes, that was it. Your diverse blend of quirks is creative and helps give sidekicks unique insights into the pro hero world.”

Roy raised an eyebrow. “Did you read my online dating profile too?”

“Now, now, Mustang,” Nezu countered, wagging a knowing finger at him, “everyone knows that you don’t need one of those.” Whether he was implying that Roy didn’t need one because he could find a date on his own or because he wasn’t in the market to date, Roy did not want to know. Nezu smiled. “I like to keep tabs on my students, especially the interesting ones.”

“I was interesting?”

“You were different, to say the least,” Nezu said. He settled back in his seat, a full plate in front of him, and measured Roy with a careful gaze. Roy didn’t blink. He’d been under that gaze a hundred times when he was a student here and a much worse one as well. “That’s partly why I asked you here today.”

“You said you needed my assistance?” Roy asked as he sat down across from him.

“Yes and no,” Nezu replied, uncharacteristically evasive. Roy tilted his head. “I’m actually offering you a job.”

Now that was interesting. “You want to hire my agency for something at the school?” Roy asked before taking a gulp of water.

“No,” Nezu said, “I want to hire you at the school. Two of my teachers are retiring this year and I’ve already filled one spot. I would like you to take over the other.”

An immediate coughing spell racked Roy after he swallowed the water the wrong way. When he finally got it under control, he stared back at the principal, who continued to eat his food as if he hadn’t just said one of the most batshit craziest things that Roy had ever heard. And he’d come up with a lot of batshit crazy things in his time.

“You’re joking,” Roy said flatly.

Nezu didn’t miss a beat. “I am not.” He kept on eating calmly.

“You want me to teach?”

“I believe that’s what I just said.”

A laugh slipped out of Roy’s mouth before he caught himself. He set his drink down on the desk and leaned back in his seat, rubbing a hand on the lower half of his face. “Wow, okay.”

His mind was spinning. Out of all the things that he had expected, this had not been one of them. Him -- teach? Sure, he acted as a leader at the agency, which sometimes required him doling out advice or lessons, but nothing like at a school. He dealt with the occasional intern from U.A. that was lucky (or unlucky, depending on how they fared) enough for him to accept their request, but never in a school setting.

This school. U.A. The home of his greatest regret and cold hard truths, the place where he’d risen to the top only to find himself free falling to rock bottom. He’d had to crawl his way back up, dig his fingernails in the dirt until he could see the sun again. Nezu had been there to see it -- had set his pace -- along with Riza and a few others. Only a handful knew the truth. By leaving this school, he had buried it in the past.

Coming back felt an awful lot like digging up that grave.

“You’re unsure,” Nezu piped up. “Are you scared?”

“Of what?” Roy countered. “Being a bad teacher?”

“Of facing your failures,” Nezu corrected. Roy pressed his lips together and wiped away any telling expression, but he knew that no answer was as good as one for Nezu. “You have done an excellent job in becoming one of the world’s strongest heroes, but it still can’t erase what happened.”

Roy scoffed. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I think you’re still torturing yourself for a mistake that a mourning child made,” Nezu told him. Roy had been fifteen when everything had started to go bad. When he looked back, he didn’t see a kid. He saw himself. “I believe this could be a means to the peace you so desperately seek.”

It made him sound pathetic, but Roy couldn’t deny it. He had graduated quietly with no fanfare and no offers. Leaving had been a way to survive but also to escape. He did want to make up for what he’d done, but the idea that he could find that at the place where it had started made his skin crawl with discomfort.

“How do you figure that?” Roy questioned, his voice sounding more caustic than he’d planned.

Nezu set his plate aside. “To make sure that none of these students make the same mistakes.” He leaned forward and pressed the pads of his paws together, like fingers, and even if he was an animal, the intent gleam in his black eyes was impossible to miss. “If I may, Roy, you are incredibly strong, but more important, you are uniquely equipped to understand the difficulties that these children will face as their quirks get stronger. Villains don’t start out as villains, just as heroes don’t start out heroes. They start out as kids. And sure, some may have an inclination towards one side or the other, but most need that push and that is something many heroes can’t possibly understand. You could.”

Roy was quiet as he considered Nezu’s words. They dug their way into his brain, each one a barb that stuck deeper and deeper until he kept hearing them over and over again. Heroes don’t start out as heroes. Had he wanted to be a hero when he was a young child? Before his parents were killed? His quirk had only recently developed before they died untimely deaths as collateral damage during a fight between a hero and a villain. It hadn’t been enough to save them; he hadn’t been strong enough to save them. Had it been after that tragic moment that he’d strived to become a hero?

It stung him a little that he couldn’t remember.

What he did remember was when that dream had started to turn sour and it had been here while he was a student at U.A. How many other children with destructive quirks eventually turned their back on society after it had turned its back on them? Villains don’t start out as villains.

“Could I, ah, could I have a day or two to think about it?” Roy asked quietly.

“Of course,” Nezu responded. “The position is only part-time for now, but I know that you have an agency to consider.” He picked up his cup of tea and took a delicate sip. “And I’m sure you will have to converse this with your partner, Miss Hawkeye.”

Roy hummed, but said nothing once again. He should have expected Nezu to know nearly everything about him and yet it had caught him off guard after being gone for so long. The only other person that knew him so deeply was Riza and that was because she had seen all his ups and downs and stuck with him through it. Some days, he didn’t know why. Others, he didn’t question it. Nezu had seen good in him and so had she. Maybe, if he became a teacher, he would see the same in others.

Or maybe he’d be a shit teacher and he’d end up wanting to blow up the little shits. What did he know about teaching?

But he owed Nezu. Roy knew that much. He wouldn’t be a hero if not for the educator. It made a twisted sort of sense that Roy would step in now and do the same.

“Now,” Nezu said, pouring more tea into his cup and then an empty one for Roy, “about that game of chess…”

Roy should’ve known the outcome right then, but he would not be who he was without his stubbornness.

*

“So are you going to take it?” Riza asked him in the safety of his office. She sat across his desk, leaning casually in it as she sipped a glass of wine. Neither one of them were technically working and so he’d pulled out the old bottle after calling her and let it breathe while waiting for her. The second she had shut the door, he had told her what Nezu had offered him today.

Roy was behind the desk, but wasn’t facing her, his front turned towards the windows that overlooked the city. It wasn’t the most spectacular view, but it was his. “I’m not sure.”

“What’s holding you back?”

“Besides my desire to never step foot in that building again?”

Riza ran her finger along the rim of the glass. It was a good wine, one she had thought was meant for celebration but was perhaps actually for change. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid.” He shot her a look and she shrugged her shoulders. “You don’t like failure. Being a hero is one thing; helping create heroes is another.”

“It’s not just that,” Roy told her, turning in his chair to face again. “Can you imagine me teaching kids? What part of me did Nezu see and think teacher?

“It must have been something.” Riza could see the wheels turning in Roy’s mind. Speaking with their old principal and setting foot in their alma mater had unsettled him, but it had also caused a shift in him. No one else in the office might have noticed, but she’d spotted the change in him immediately. Already he was distant. She bet that he was picturing life as a teacher at U.A. and he wouldn’t be able to let it go.

Roy was silent as he thought and then he hesitantly said, “Shoto will be fifteen this year. There’s no doubt that Endeavor will have him apply at U.A., even if he doesn’t want to.”

The names stirred uneasiness in Riza’s gut. She hated to admit it, but the moment Roy had told her at the teaching position, her mind had gone to the boy. Mixed feelings consumed her, but she said nothing. The last time she had crossed paths with Endeavor, she had felt herself itching for one of her guns while he had scoffed and brushed her aside. Heroes were typically amiable with each other, but not them. If Endeavor outright hated Roy, he was totally disdainful of her.

In all honesty, she knew that he treated his son no better.

“Have you thought about contacting him?” Roy asked her. He was careful about this subject, knowing that she didn’t like to talk about it, skirting around it so that she knew that she had an out if she wanted one. However, if Roy did become a teacher at U.A. and Shoto did apply, things would undoubtedly become more complicated if she did not dissect her feelings on the matter.

“You know that Endeavor wouldn’t allow it,” Riza sighed, looking into the wine glass. “Fuyumi told me that he keeps Shoto on a tight leash and won’t even let him see their brothers. It’s a wonder that I was able to talk to her.”

She knew exactly what it was like to grow up in a cold home under the control of a quirk obsessed father. Passing on the knowledge of his quirk and the strength of her mother’s fire quirk had meant everything to her father and she had failed him, not inheriting a single one. In comparison, Endeavor had succeeded where her father had failed and was now forcing everything onto Shoto’s shoulders. It was hard not to feel sympathy for his situation and then anger that she had done nothing.

“Screw Endeavor,” Roy said and she knew he meant it. His rivalry with Endeavor was only half his own; the other half he had inherited when becoming her father’s student. Endeavor hadn’t liked the idea that there was someone that could rival his strength or even compare to him. “He can’t stop you. You’re Shoto’s family.”

“That’s not what Endeavor would say if you asked him,” Riza pointed out. “He cut my mother out of the family when she agreed to marry my father. I’m a black stain. I doubt Shoto even knows he has other relatives and if he does, Endeavor will have been sure to turn him against me.”

Roy finished his wine and poured himself another glass. “Endeavor is no peach either.” He leaned over to top her glass off. “We’ve all got skeletons in our closet. The least we can do is not pass them off to the next generation.”

“That’s the most teacher-like thing you could have said, you know,” Riza told him, her heart warming just a little.

Roy rolled his eyes at her, but he couldn’t hide that shadow of a smile if he tried, so he had to turn his face away from her again. He wanted to do this just as much as he didn’t. The moment he’d told her about Nezu’s job offer, she had known that he was going to take it. He felt so much responsibility and understood the consequences of one’s misguided actions more than anyone.

It shouldn’t have taken her this long to think about this. Her history was twisted and her family even stranger, but that was what happened when you were born out of an arranged quirk marriage. The Todoroki line had split in an attempt to pass on the fire quirk. Endeavor had won, but the cost was too high in Riza’s mind. She knew what he had done to his family and it made her sick, reminding her of the way her father had pushed her aside in favor of Roy when he’d found out that Roy’s quirk allowed him to use that fire knowledge. She had admittedly been jealous at first, but now she was grateful. At least she hadn’t be alone, unlike Shoto. How lonely his life must be.

The truth was, she had been afraid to contact him after so long. She was worried of what he might think of her. She hadn’t avoided him, but she hadn’t fought to meet him either. It was easier to ignore Endeavor, if only because he made her so angry. And all those feelings weren’t very hero-like.


	5. Forgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy is confronted by three of his old classmates and spots a few standouts in the Entrance Exam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter so far. I know it's kind of weird to go by their actual names instead of the ones we see in the anime and manga often, but Roy would think of them that way, so meh.

School was...school. Already it was a whole different beast now that he was on the other side and Roy didn’t know what to think. It was like he had to learn all over again, except this time he was teaching, like he was back to being a sidekick while trying to prove himself as a hero in a country that wasn’t his own.

After speaking with Nezu and getting a handle on things, Roy stepped out of his office, heading towards the room where all the teachers would be watching and assessing the entrance exams. However, just as he turned around, he nearly collided with someone and to fight the urge to turn tail and walk away. He didn't even think of that when facing a villain. Why was one man any different?

“Aizawa, wow, you look…” Roy looked him in the eyes. “Tired.”

It appeared as if time had only made the circles under Aizawa’s eyes even deeper, but despite having not seen him in over a decade, he didn’t look remarkably different. His hair was longer, his face more gaunt, and there was a permanent five o’clock shadow to match the permanent frown, but it was still him.

“And you look far too pleased with yourself,” Aizawa replied, “so nothing’s changed.”

Knowing full well that he might be ignored or turned down, Roy held out a hand and, surprisingly, Aizawa shook it without hesitation. But then, Aizawa had always been a good person, much better than Roy. Besides falling asleep in class often, he had been a good student, but more importantly, he had been a good friend. They had butted heads plenty, but that was only to be expected with Roy’s antagonistic behavior. He’d thought it was funny to push the other boy’s buttons.

Everything had changed after the Incident, an irreparable shift between them that neither one seemed to be able to handle, and they’d never fully recovered like Roy and Riza had. He didn’t know whether it was on his own behalf or Aizawa’s. Both of them had been stubborn in their own ways. Riza had fought her way back into his life; Aizawa had let him go without a word. To be honest, Roy didn’t blame him, but with so many years having passed, it was difficult to tell where that put them now.

“So how long have you been teaching here?” Roy asked, genuinely curious.

Aizawa considered him for a moment, as if deciding whether or not this conversation was worth it or a waste of his time, but then answered, “Three years.”

“Didn’t figure you for the teaching type,” Roy pointed out.

“I could say the same for you,” Aizawa replied without missing a beat. He never had beat around the bush, always preferring to face things head on. There was no sense in sparing someone’s feelings. Maybe that was why things had fallen away between them back at UA. There was nothing he could say. What was done was done. Roy had made his choice and he would have to face the consequences. Pity was not an emotion Aizawa subscribed to. “I don’t think you’re the right man for the job.”

Despite the insult, the comment made Roy smile. Just like old times. He could just hear Aizawa grumbling from underneath his folded arms on his desk, _“I think you’re an arrogant bastard,”_ when they were fifteen.

“To be honest, I’m not so sure either,” Roy admitted. He thought he saw a change in Aizawa’s gaze. Admitting any sort of weakness or uncertainty was not one of Roy’s skills, despite his penchant for guilt. He was strong and he knew it. He was confident in his abilities and knew that he was better than many other heroes out there. So to agree with Aizawa now meant something.

It was an olive branch. Maybe not a good one, but a start. As good as he was at making enemies -- and he was very good, with both villains and heroes alike -- he didn’t want to make them here. He and Aizawa would never be friends again and it would be even worse with Yamada, but Roy could tolerate amiability. He could tolerate a lot of things, hopefully a bunch of children included.

“Then why did you agree to take the position?” Aizawa asked.

“Because Nezu asked and I owe him more than I can pay back,” Roy said honestly, knowing that it might make him appear softer than he liked, “and I don’t want anyone to make the same stupid, terrible mistakes that I did.”

Aizawa nodded. “You made a lot of those.”

He would know. He had been around to see a lot of them and not just the awful ones. They had made a few idiot ones together as well, as any kid and student were bound to do. Roy would never be able to forget having the clean the dorm bathrooms for a week after the two of them were caught shirking class and napping in the back of the library. It had been disgusting and they’d sworn to never nap in such an easy to find place again. Those had been some of the best times of his life. It was a shame that he’d dragged them through the mud for nothing.

“I don’t know how Riza puts up with you,” Aizawa sighed, sounding like the whole thing exhausted him. “I’ve told her on more than one occasion that it’s a waste of her time.”

Roy might’ve flinched if he hadn’t known that Aizawa and Riza were still in contact and friends and she had already told him of Aizawa’s thoughts. Despite being partners with him at his agency, it had not affected Riza’s relationship with their old classmates. He thought that things might have been tense at first, but after a while, they’d warmed up to her again and she had been accepted back into the fold while he sat on the outskirts. It didn’t hurt him; he’d built other connections after leaving.

“I’m sure she wonders it every now and then as well,” Roy said. Before Aizawa could end the conversation and speak with Nezu, as he had surely been planning before crossing his path, Roy did it for him. “I suppose we’ll see who’s right.”

Aizawa settled a dark, half-lidded look on him, one that spoke of promise. “If you do anything to betray Nezu or this school--”

Roy held up a hand. “Then you can see to my end personally. I expect as much from you.” He dropped his hand and put it back into his pocket. “I know my word means little, but believe me when I say that I would rather die fighting with my bare hands and no quirk than do something like that again.”

There was another beat where the two men stared each other down. Aizawa did look tired, but behind that exhaustion was the strength of a man who would go on fighting villains tooth and nail until the bitter end. He would not hesitate to do as Roy said if it came to it and maybe, for the most part, there would be nothing personal in it as well.

Finally, without so much as a goodbye, Aizawa moved around Roy and stepped into Nezu’s office. Truth be told, the confrontation had gone a lot better than Roy had expected, but then, he should’ve known that Aizawa would not bother getting into a fight or pissing match with him. He would react to things logically after time spent carefully observing this new dynamic and if he deemed an argument necessary he would have it out.

Yamada, on the other hand, would not be so kind and Roy didn’t even want to think about how Kayama would react. As long as she didn’t smother him to death, he’d be fine. He’d bought special earplugs to deal with Yamada.

*

Roy almost choked on his own tongue when he stepped into the observation room, coming to a complete halt as the door shut behind him and trying not to outright gawk. Of course he recognized all the pro heroes who had become teachers at UA later in their careers. Nezu had told him who all of his colleagues were so that he would have a heads up. Well, almost all of them.

The sneaky principal hadn’t told Roy that _All Might_ was the other teacher he’d hired this year.

Despite being one of the highest paid and well-known heroes himself, it was impossible not to get a little star struck by All Might. The immensity of his power was evident, even if his muscles were hidden under a garish yellow suit. His smile was bright even in the dark room, shining from the glare of the television screens, and he looked even taller in person than he did in interviews. Roy was certain that the hero could physically crush him with one hand. No wonder villains turned tail and ran like crazy whenever they saw him.

How could you possibly fight him and think you had a chance of winning? Roy knew the strength of his quirk and he knew that he was more powerful than most pro heroes out there, but even he would have a difficult time against All Might. He wouldn’t have been able to fight like a hero against an impressive man like that.

“Flame Alchemist!” the number one hero greeted, holding out his massive arms like he meant to pull Roy into a painful bear hug. It almost caused Roy to take a step back, but he stood his ground. “Nezu told me that he planned on offering you the other position, but I did not know if you’d accepted it or not. I’m incredibly pleased that we will have this opportunity to work together.”

He sounded genuine. Roy had to wonder if Nezu had told All Might about Roy’s history. It was hard to tell. All Might was the status that every hero aspired to; he was not only the symbol of peace but that of heroism as well. He had no doubt that All Might would accept him into his good graces even if he did know. Because that was what heroes did. He would not hold something nearly fifteen years old against him. Number one hero notwithstanding, he was a good person, plain and simple, and that was hard to come by these days, even in heroes.

It would make sense for Nezu to tell them if they didn’t already know. Three of them did, so it was bound to get out sooner or later once people realized that they had all attended UA together. Finding out on their own might break any trust he managed to build with them. Knowing in advance could also keep him from being able to do that in the first place.

Still, Roy managed a smile and held out his hand. The sight of All Might shaking his hand was comical considering the size difference. He shoved his hand back into his coat pocket. “That’s why you came back into town then, isn’t it? Nezu didn’t tell me that he hired you.”

“Ah,” All Might replied, rubbing the back of his neck almost like he was shy, “that information has not been released to the public yet.”

Roy nodded, opening to his mouth to comment on their clever boss, when a woman’s voice called out, “Roy Mustang!”

Immediately, Roy cringed and muttered, “Not my real name…” even though it was already too late. They would have eventually known it, but it was one of those things that every hero got used to after a while. Only going by their code name in public and the general masses never knowing their true given name. It gave Roy a sense of anonymity and even safety. No one could look up his records, even if they didn’t say much. His school records had been wiped so that they looked positively droll in comparison to others; the real one, hopefully, Nezu had gotten rid of ages ago.

By the time the woman wedged her way to the front of the room, Roy was trying to put a collected smile back on his face, but he knew that it would mean absolutely nothing. He couldn’t charm her, not when she was even better at it than him. He’d seen guys fall at her feet after just a wink and sly smile. Nonetheless, he had to be strong. She was not a fan of weakness.

“Hello, Kayama,” Roy greeted. “Or do you prefer Midnight?”

Of course Kayama looked right through him, her gaze as sharp as a knife. He’d seen her on television at the last U.A. Sports Festival. He was always invited to go, but never went, preferring to watch the games without having to step foot on campus. Seeing her in person though was jarring. Her costume had to be uncomfortably tight and left absolutely nothing to the imagination despite showing no skin. It was the complete opposite of Riza, who the media constantly criticized for not wearing an “attractive” costume, as if that mattered for a female pro hero.

Things like that had never bothered Kayama though. She _liked_ provoking people with her appearance and attitude; she had been no different when their were students, if not so...graphic. It was why she and Roy had gotten along so well. They’d made a terror of a pair.

“You’ve been back in town for how many years and I only see you now because you’re my colleague?” Kayama laid a hand on his cheek, stroking it softly. She had such smooth hands, somehow avoiding callouses from her whip, another thing very unlike Riza. “I should knock you unconscious, you know.”

“Been there, done that,” Roy told her, “and while it’s pleasant during it, the headache after was more painful than a kick to the head.”

Kayama gave him a wicked smile. “That’s because you always fought it so much. If you had just lied back like a good boy, you would have enjoyed it more.”

Behind her, one of the other teachers coughed uncomfortably. Roy fought the urge to laugh. This was the Nemuri Kayama that he remembered. She didn’t mind if people took what she said the wrong way -- in fact, she preferred it -- and so she said whatever she felt like to get a reaction. The other teachers were probably used to it by now, but with Roy here as a fresh victim, she could be more terrible than usual.

It was kind of frightening, if he was being honest. Kayama always had been a bit intimidating.

Dropping the act for the most part, Kayama pulled her hand away and placed it on her hip, cocking them to the side in a defiant manner. “I can’t believe you came back. I can’t believe that you’re _teaching_.” He thought the same thing of her, but kept it to himself, if only because she didn’t say those things in the same way as Aizawa. Actually, she sounded rather happy, a little shocked but pleased by the strange turn of events. Of course she would though. This would be painful and fun. “What was Nezu thinking?

“You know, I’m not sure,” Roy said. “I’m a bit surprised that I’m here as well.”

“I didn’t think you would ever return,” Kayama continued, her voice a little softer this time. “I missed you.”

The fact that he knew she was telling the truth struck him like a knife in the chest. Kayama, he knew, had been hurt by his betrayal and incredibly angry. He’d been forced to hide from her lest he suffer her wrath, but even worse, he had been too humiliated to face her. By the time she graduated, their relationship had completely dissolved and that he knew had been his own doing. They’d been reduced to uncomfortable looks, confused glares, and muttered words. When he moved overseas to find hero work, it hadn’t taken anything to cut off all contact.

To hear those words now made guilt twist in Roy’s gut. It had been a while since someone had made him feel bad like this. “I should’ve contacted you earlier, but I…”

“Oh, I know; you have the same emotional consideration as Aizawa, who would rather die than admit anything.” Kayama waved him off, but when she looked at him again, he nodded his head. Later, when they could afford some privacy, they would talk more. He found himself looking forward to it more than expected. He had missed her as well. While they hadn’t been as close as he and Riza, she’d been easy to get along with, even if the two of them had often gotten in trouble. “Have you run into him yet?”

“Yeah, outside of Nezu’s office. He didn’t kill me so not terrible. They’re probably on their way here now.” Roy then peered around the dark room, taking note of all the other professors in it. Soon, they would all sit down to watch the entrance exams so that they could observe and grade the students attempting to get into U.A. It would be the first act as a teacher and, while it was nothing compared to fighting down multiple villains, it made him a bit anxious. “Is, ah…?”

Kayama shook her head. “No, he’s greeting the students and explaining the entrance exam.”

“Of course. That makes sense.” Roy wiped his face clean. Meeting up again with Aizawa and Kayama hadn’t been so bad. Maybe time had healed some wounds. The knowing look on Kayama's face told him that she knew exactly what he was thinking and he sighed. Not all of them apparently. Well, he was used to people not liking him -- reveled in it at times. This would be no different. He just had to give back as much grief as he was given.

*

The first thing that Roy noticed while watching the students take the UA entrance exam was that he had forgotten how incredibly strong some quirks were in mere children. None of them should’ve had the kind of power that could destroy a person at their age. He certainly shouldn’t have had it. Yet, often, this was the age when their quirk began to grow stronger. It was the perfect time to teach them how to control and use it for the greater good.

He sat silently next to Kayama, leaning back in his chair with an elbow propped on the armrest and his fingers bent and resting against his lips. Because of the large amount of would-be students, they were forced to focus on multiple screens that depicted different scenes in the testing arenas. Some gave a larger view of the area while others were focused solely on one student at a time.

It was remarkable, watching these kids jump into a combat scenario when they had never used their quirk in such a way before. Prior to the exam, most of these kids used their quirks for fun or daily life. They might’ve used their quirks to bully those with lesser or no quirks, but that sort of violence wasn’t the same as this kind. Now it was something a little more serious.

It was close to a fight with a villain and yet not nearly enough. What did a robot know of a villain’s desires? What did a robot know of a villain’s need to destroy? It didn’t matter if the villain was a purse thief or a murderer. They all wanted something and a robot couldn’t get that kind of desperation through that caused them to act so maniacally.

“Amazing,” Snipe breathed out as he leaned forward to point at one of the screens. “The strength of his quirk at this age already exceeds that of most of the third year students.”

Roy had been watching the screen already, his eyes drawn to the potential student every time he appeared on one of the cameras. Katsuki Bakugou -- some sort of explosion quirk. It _was_ amazing. Powerful, vicious, and terrifying. The moment Roy had caught sight of the first explosion, which destroyed a one point robot in one go, he’d snapped his eyes in that direction and locked on it.

Two thoughts crossed Roy’s mind. One: _He’s going to be a nightmare to teach._ And two: _He’s going to have to work twice as hard to be a hero._

For some people, being a hero came naturally, but the problem was that it wasn’t just one thing that made up a pro hero. There were multiple facets that most kids never considered upon applying for the hero course. It wasn’t just about being the strongest or smartest; they had to be charming too unless they wanted to work underground. With a flashy quirk like that, there was no way Bakugou could or would want to do that.

He was all raw power with edges sharp enough to cut a person if they dared to get close and a hint of control that suggested he was one button away from losing it. The problem was that heroes had to be approachable even if they went by code names and fought criminals and it was clear that getting within five feet of Bakugou was just asking for trouble. Roy watched the way the kid brusquely blew past anyone that got in his way, even taking down robots that other potential students were fighting with, effectively stealing their points. It was the rage that Roy noticed the most, as if the robots were beneath him.

 _Give me a real challenge,_ Bakugou’s explosions seemed to demand.

Roy smirked behind his hand. Oh, he could do that.

“At this rate, he’ll take the first place spot without getting any rescue points,” Thirteen pointed out.

Cementoss shook his head. “But he seems so temperamental and arrogant -- at such a young age, too.”

Kayama brushed Roy’s leg with her foot, dragging his attention away from the screen showing Bakugou to look at her. There was a lazy smirk on her face. “Remind you of someone else at that age?”

Roy scoffed. “I was not that volatile.” His eyes went back to the screen. The explosions did remind him of his own, except Bakugou was forced to use close range attacks. Perhaps, with the right equipment, he would be able to do long range ones like Roy was capable of. If he could pinpoint them, he could use his quirk in a way that would be safer for combat in a smaller area. Right now, he looked like he was trying to blow the whole place up. “Besides, I got rescue points.”

“Ten, to be exact,” Nezu pointed out, “although most believed it was incidental, as your main goal seemed to be stealing the points away from the student you saved.”

That earned a quiet snicker from Kamaya and what sounded like a harrumph from Aizawa in the background. Roy ignored them both, but did recall the event. To be honest, he _had_ been stealing the points from that student and he’d snapped at them after the fact to get out of his way if they were going to act like a frozen idiot. But that had been because he’d been genuinely worried that they would hurt themselves, not just because. The rush of the entrance exam went to everyone’s head.

Having them compare Bakugou to him did make Roy wary though. It was in good humor now, but later on, some of those comparisons might not be as kind. In order to be a pro hero, one had to be hero-like and like it or not, with that smirking snarl on his face, the fury in his eyes, and the explosions ready in the palm of his hands, Roy thought that some people might not see the hero in Katsuki Bakugou.

At UA, they taught students that quirks were meant to save lives, but more often than not for heroes, those same quirks were capable of killing people just as well. It was a tighter rope than most liked to admit.

Another student that caught the attention of the teachers was a boy named Edward Elric. Both he and his younger brother were applying for the school, having been born close enough to be in the same class. Roy could not imagine having to raise two kids with such unique quirks at the same time. Edward was insistent though and it was clear that he had been working on strengthening his quirk for a long time.

While other potential students destroyed the robots, with a single press of his palm, Edward was able to transform them, the metal twisting to whatever he wanted. Most of them turned into tacky statues. The action was effective nonetheless. With their insides twisted into something else, the bots were useless and no longer functional, rendering them completely harmless.

It was incredibly creative, almost like Edward was sparing the lives of the bots.

This quirk and strategy allowed him to not only rack up attack points but also rescue points, putting him in as a front runner, not far behind Bakugou, which seemed to anger the latter. One time, when Bakugou jumped onto a bot’s back, Edward transformed it right underneath him, turning the robot into an admittedly comical metal statue of Bakugou’s face mid-scream. Bakugou was infuriated, blowing the thing to high heaven, while Edward ran off laughing.

It was strange and contradicting, seeing them act like two children while simultaneously wielding such power under the stress of the entrance exam.

The last main thing that Roy noticed was that Shoto Todoroki was missing even though Roy had seen him on campus. Roy’s mind had immediately gone to Riza the second he saw Todoroki’s face and bitterness rose in the back of his throat. Was the fire quirk passed down through the Todoroki line a gift or a curse? All it did seemed to do was harm those that wanted nothing to do with it. Riza had not inherited it -- her life would have most likely been even more like Todoroki’s if she had -- but it had still hurt her in the end.

(No, he had hurt her. There was a difference.)

Perhaps Todoroki had been accepted into UA on recommendation. It would make sense, considering his father was Endeavor and he had an incredibly powerful quirk. The school allowed four per year into their hero course, though most needed to have a connection and could not rely on their quirk alone. Roy was disappointed. He had wanted to see Todoroki’s quirk in action before seeing him, but there was nothing to be done about it. Plenty of the other students had intriguing quirks to keep his attention outside of Bakugou.

Like that green-haired kid who went from panicking to leaping full blast to knock the hell out of the monstrous zero point bot, all to save a girl trapped under some rubble without a second thought.

“Holy shit,” Roy muttered under his breath.

Nearly everyone in the room jolted in shock, with the exception of All Might and Nezu. Even Aizawa had twitched behind them. It had been so sudden. The kid hadn’t had any points and seemed certain to fail spectacularly, but then he’d destroyed the robot with one hit. No child should have that kind of strength. It was absolutely immense. And clearly very dangerous, judging from the way the quirk turned back on him and destroyed his body.

None of the teachers could do anything, just sit and watch in horror as the boy plummeted full speed to his death. He saw Kamaya tense in her seat and All Might grit his teeth. They were heroes and they could do nothing from where they were. And then, the girl the boy had saved slapped him in the face a few meters from the ground and he came to a floating halt.

Saved. Both of them saved. They’d saved each other.

Now _that_ was a rescue.

Nezu broke the tension in the room. “Shall we vote on the rescue points?”

Roy couldn’t help but smile as he watched the hero teachers hold up their paddles that displayed the rescue points they allotted to the students. Call it a sudden case of sentimentalism for that old feeling of true heroism, the kind that had propelled him when he’d been an innocent child, but he gave eight full points. Despite the fact that the attack had backfired on the kid, it was astounding. It had been a long time since he’d seen power like that in a person that so obviously wanted to do and be good.

Leaning back in his seat again, Roy examined the points board. One student at the top with only attack points and another student at the bottom with only rescue points. This was going to be an interesting year.

*

“I ought to blast you the hell out of here,” came a familiar voice from the doorway.

Roy grinned up from his spot at a table in the teacher’s lounge and waved a hand. “Hello to you too, Yamada.”

Honestly he had been half-expecting Present Mic to kick the door down with a classic rock-like scream of, “DO YOU WANNA FUCKING DIE?” using his quirk, which would’ve blown Roy senseless. That was why he’d come here with Kayama. On campus indoors, the other hero wouldn’t use his quirk since it would destroy school property.

“Oh, no, I don’t think so,” Yamada growled as he stomped into the room. “You don’t get to just stroll in here and act like everything's a-okay.”

He was in his full pro hero costume, which meant that if he did want to wreck Roy’s eardrums and then some, it wouldn’t be an issue. But no, Roy was certain that he wouldn’t do it -- no here, at least. Still, Roy’s fingers twitched at the hot feeling of the ceramic cup in his hands. He always felt so bare and uncomfortable whenever he didn’t wear his gloves, but he’d kept them in his pockets. It left him more vulnerable. It was his sign to everyone that he wasn’t here for a fight.

So what if he didn’t actually need his gloves to cause damage? They didn’t need to know that. After keeping the truth about his quirk a secret for over fifteen years, he no longer felt guilt over tricking anyone. It was _his_ quirk. He didn’t owe explanations to anyone.

Holding his hands out palms up, Roy leaned back in his seat and asked, “What would you have me do then? Apologize?” He fixed a steady look on Yamada’s angry face. “I’m sorry. I truly am. Better?” When Yamada didn’t answer, only screwed up his face further like he was trying to decide whether or not to let out a deafening scream, Roy shook his head. “I didn’t think so.”

“Boys,” Kayama drawled from where she was sprawled on the couch, “play nice.” She gave them a cheshire cat smile and tugged on the thin material of her costume. “Or I’ll be forced to punish you.”

Yamada turned on her. “Are you actually siding with him?”

“No, I’m thinking about the exam results,” Kayama replied coolly, “and you’re being loud, as usual.”

Undeterred and boiling with just barely contained irritation at her indifference and Roy’s mere presence, Yamada pointed an accusing finger at Roy. “He shouldn’t have even been allowed to graduate, much less become a hero and then a teacher.”

Roy shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t force my way in. Principal Nezu asked me to come.”

“He should’ve expelled you,” Yamada seethed.

“You’re probably right,” Roy countered, “but he didn’t.” A nasty smirk grew on his face. “It must kill you that I’m more famous than you are.”

It was hard not to rile Yamada’s feathers. He knew that he shouldn’t -- he knew that he should try to make peace with the other hero -- but it was so hard not to fall back into that old role, especially when Yamada clearly didn’t want him here in the first place. They’d been tenuous friends at best in school. He had been energetic and very enthusiastic, a complete contrast to Aizawa, but also very passionate. Both Riza and Kayama had suggested that their equally outgoing personalities clashed with one another. Aizawa had cut ties with him and he had avoided Kayama, but if there was one thing Yamada was, it was vocal and he had been so about his opinion of Roy.

What galled Roy the most was that he hadn’t necessarily disagreed with Yamada during that time.

“Stop being mean, Mustang,” Kayama warned him. To his credit, Roy held up his hands in front of him again, this time in surrender. “Even Aizawa said that the principal must have a logical reason for his decision, so we should trust him.”

Both of them knew that Yamada would concede a little if he knew that Aizawa was on board. He folded his arms across his chest and tapped his boot on the ground. “I trust Nezu. I’m not about to trust _him_.”

“You don’t have to trust me, Yamada,” Roy pointed out. “You don’t have to even like me.” Despite being popular and well-known, he was also used to people not liking him. According to Riza, he rubbed a lot of pro heroes the wrong way with his smug behavior and flashy quirk that left little limelight for anyone else after he showed up. He didn’t care. “Whether you believe me or not -- _I don’t care_ \-- but my only concern here is to not let Nezu or the students down.”

“So smooth,” Yamada mumbled, about as quiet as Roy had ever heard him speak.

Kayama threw him a smile and batted her eyelashes at him. “Speak all noble and compassionate like that and you’re going to get me hot and bothered.” Roy rolled his eyes while Yamada snorted. He had forgotten just how outrageous she could be; she was even worse when the cameras were around. He’d missed her playfulness. “No wonder you’re so popular with the ladies. I’d be jealous if I was Hawkeye.”

There was no way in hell that he was going to respond to that.

Now that the main confrontations and the entrance exams were over, Roy felt utterly drained. He hadn’t felt this mentally beat in a long time, but then he hadn’t slept much either. In between thinking about today and pouring over the murder case file in his living room, he’d maybe got two or three hours. He also still had planned on going back to the agency so that he could give Riza a break. She’d told him to go home after this, but he wanted to keep himself busy and doing hero work would do just that.

Also, if he could blow the hell out of a villain or two, that would be great and really do some wonders for him.

“I’ve got to get back to my agency,” Roy told them, standing up from the table.

“We’re still on for dinner Friday, yes?” Kayama asked. He waved a dismissive hand as if to say of course. “If you’re going to wine and dine me, it better be a proper place -- and I never pay for my meals.”

How was it that he was ending up buying food for everyone at this damn place? Next thing he knew, Aizawa would be expecting a coffee or All Might would ask him for a protein shake or something. Nonetheless, Roy nodded his head and didn’t fight the matter. He owed her more than dinner if she was accepting him back into her life, although he had no doubts that she would do something to make him regret it later. Punishment was one of her favorite things in life.

He almost shuddered just thinking of a few things she’d done when they had been schoolmates. Even to her friends, she could be particularly...cruel.

As Roy walked passed Yamada and out of the room, he could tell that the other hero wanted to say something, but he bit his tongue for once, probably because of a look on Kayama’s face. Chances were this wouldn’t be their last confrontation anyways. Roy had accepted that some people would not like him -- and he also had to accept that they had every reason to do so. He’d learned to push that aside a long time. The opinions of his status as a hero with the public was important to him, but as far as people liking him as a person? It didn’t matter. Everyone could hate him for all he cared as long as he did his job as a hero. As long as he _was_ a hero.


	6. Educator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Roy tells Riza about his students and we see Mustang's first lesson from his eyes and Bakugou gets schooled.

Four nights after the entrance exams, Roy found himself restless and decided to go on a patrol with Riza. Normally he did them alone, but his mind had been running a mile a minute and so he’d asked if he could join her. It wasn’t all that unusual for the public to see the Flame Alchemist and Hawk’s Eye working together, so no one at the agency even blinked when he stepped out with her.

It had been a month since they’d done so and he’d missed her calming effect while on duty. He had been so busy after accepting the teaching position that it had slid to the back burner. With school officially starting in three weeks, he knew that their time together like this would be limited even more and he wanted to squeeze in as many opportunities as he could.

Yes, it sounded a bit desperate, but he didn’t care and she didn’t point it out, even if she had noticed his slight change in behavior. He was utterly grateful for that. His pride could handle a lot these days, but Riza pointing out any cracks in his armor was not one of them.

The streetlamps were turning on, glowing orbs in the night, as the sun settled behind the buildings. This was Roy’s favorite time of day -- where night struggled with day and slowly but surely overcame it. There was a certain feel about it, lulling most people into a strange sense of calmness. Even most villains or mere criminals, he found, waited until night fully hung over them to do their business, as if the dark might hide them and those few minutes where light clung to the sky would expose them and get them captured.

For just a few minutes, Roy could close his eyes, breathe, and pretend.

As much as he wanted to though, his mind was still very much focused on what he’d witnessed during the entrance exams. It had been very enlightening. Seeing all those different quirks in action had shaken up something in him and the students… Hell, they were going to be a handful. It’d be like dealing with all his sidekicks at once, but without any of the training, just the confidence of their quirk and the desire to be a hero.

“You should have seen him,” Roy was saying, gloved hands shoved in his pockets as they walked side-by-side. “He was spectacular. A little shit, to be sure, but powerful. No rescue points and still took the number one spot?” Roy shook his head. Bakugou had been wild, looking like he was on a rampage, and despite trying not to, it had reminded him of himself when his temper had gotten the better of him. “He’s going to crash and burn hard when he gets knocked down a peg or two.”

Riza smiled faintly. “Like you did during our first combat simulation?”

“Ugh,” Roy groaned, “don’t remind me of that.”

Bad enough Riza and Aizawa had been paired up against him while Roy had been stuck with some kid whose quirk had clearly been inferior to his own. He’d gone off the rails to get the job done on his own and it had been an absolute disaster. All his ferocious power meant absolutely nothing the second Aizawa locked eyes on him. He’d been so stunned at his quirk getting cancelled -- all of it -- that he’d froze up and the other boy had landed a solid punch to his face.

Roy could have destroyed the building they were in with a single snap of his fingers and yet he’d gotten a black eye just from being stared at. He’d never been so humiliated in his life. He had almost blown it up in retaliation.

“Some kids, especially ones born with stronger than normal quirks, need to be brought back down to earth,” Riza told him. “If they can’t connect with humanity on some level, they won’t make a good hero.”

“Oh, I’m going to do just that,” Roy replied confidently. “I’m just fairly certain he’s going to come down to earth with all the delicacy of a fiery asteroid.”

Some landed harder than others. Roy knew that for a fact. His crash had blown up everything around him. He did not want that to happen to anyone else, not even a random kid with a hair-trigger temper. It had been easy to see how confident the kid was, blinding to the point way past arrogant, and those kinds of people fell hardest. Roy knew that there would be no easing that landing -- and that he shouldn’t try in the first place. Guiding the pieces back together into a functional, unwavering hero was the hard part.

Pride was not easy to mold. Gods knew how any of his teachers, especially Nezu and Riza’s father, had been able to handle him.

“Any other kids show promise?” Riza asked, just a hint of hesitation in her voice.

“Shoto didn’t take the exam,” Roy told her, knowing what she was truly asking. “I asked Nezu afterwards. He was accepted in on recommendation.”

Riza nodded her head. “Of course.”

Roy chuffed. “I bet Endeavor was pleased with himself. Strong enough to skip the exam entirely. He got in solely on recommendation too.”

A soft look fell over Riza’s face, which was strange since they were talking about Endeavor. Normally, talk about the number two hero brought out a side of anger that she hid from everyone else. “I just hope Shoto was happy about it.” Of course she would be focused on the boy and not his father. Roy would do the same once classes started. It was only fair. He was curious if the kid would follow his dad’s agenda or create his own path.

“There were a few other standouts though,” Roy continued, steering them away from the ugly subject. “One boy, Edward Elric -- he must have some sort of metal manipulation quirk -- made mincemeat out of the bots with just a touch of his hand. It was like they turned to liquid and formed into whatever was in his head.” He thought back to the robots-turned-statues. “Probably would make a great artist if he had a creative bone in his body.”

Riza gave him a look, a faint smile on her face. “You’re enjoying this.”

He shrugged his shoulders, but did grin back at her. “In a strange way, yeah, I am.” He looked up to the dark sky. “It’s different. The kids… I don’t know how good of a teacher I’m going to be. I still don’t know what Nezu expects of me. All I can do is hope for the best.” Roy made a face. “In addition to hero training, he’s also making me teach regular classes as well.  _ History _ . He must think he’s terribly clever.”

Even though he clearly wasn’t pleased with it, Riza laughed. “That’s part of his quirk, isn’t it?”

Before Roy could respond or say any potentially derogatory remarks about his future boss and past mentor, there was a buzz in both their ears, signalling them that they were getting a call from someone in their agency. Both came to a halt on the sidewalk and listened as Havoc, one of the sidekicks working under Roy, piped up, “Hey, sorry to disturb you two lovebirds!”

Neither one of them said anything in response to that, but they glanced at each other and Roy rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Havoc?”

“We’ve got a situation about five blocks from where you’re at,” Havoc continued without missing a beat, listing off an address. “I’m here with Catalina -- yes, I’m calling them now, another agency isn’t going to -- sorry that was her -- anyways we’d take care of this ourselves but there were hostages involved by the time we got here and--”

“We’re on our way,” Riza interrupted him.

“Righto. We’ll fill you in when you get here. This could take a while.”

Roy scoffed. Not on his watch. The line went dead and he caught Riza’s eye as a smirk took over his face. “Now this is what I needed tonight.”

“A hostage situation is nothing to get pleased about,” Riza pointed out.

“Oh it’s not that,” Roy replied cheekily as he made sure his gloves were on tight. It was the fight. He almost felt bad for whoever was causing all this ruckus because he was going to make that person burn. The problem with people that had fire-related quirks was that they had to get it out of their system. It hadn’t always been that way for him, but the second it had changed, he’d felt it in himself. That timer, always ready to go off, if he didn’t do something to move it back a little more.

*

Roy should have expected that teaching would be like this. After finding out about the stunt that Aizawa had pulled with Class 1-A (threatening to expel one of them right off the bat for failing to meet his and therefore U.A.’s expectations, how like him), he’d started to go through the teachers’ records just a few days shortly before All Might, the two of them intersecting their research at the end. He wasn’t quite sure why the number one hero was interested in who was teaching, especially the first years, but then Roy was snooping as well, so he couldn’t outright question him without looking suspicious.

That wasn’t the same for All Might, who had asked Roy was he was looking up on the teachers.

Roy had smiled pleasantly.  _ “Just figuring out how I’ll stack against my fellow teachers.” _ It had seemed like an almost admirable statement, like he was admitting that he was nervous about joining the staff since he’d never taught before. All Might had thought so at least, telling him how commendable and diligent he was being. Ah, it was always a fun time lying straight to a superior’s face. Not.

Oh well. He didn’t want to admit that he was seeing what his old classmates had turned into. Already it was obvious that Roy had gone to school with three of the other teachers at U.A. They were too familiar with him and Kayama had already said a few things. Luckily he knew they would be close-lipped about just what school had been like. Heroes weren’t known for opening up about their darkest secrets and that was certainly one of them, binding them together for life with an uncomfortable string.

Still, meeting the kids for the first time proved somewhat nerve-wracking. They were all fifteen and Roy knew exactly what he’d been like at that age. He’d been awful. His quirk had been too strong for his age and his mind too sharp. He’d thought himself terribly clever and above everyone. If he had to deal with someone like himself, he might actually lose his cool, but then, no one could possibly be as bad as he had been and was now.

As he walked across the field towards the group of students gathered sporadically in the spot the sign on the classroom door had told them, Roy wasn’t so certain. Class 1-A was always problematic. It was filled with the best, but the best came at a price.

“Sorry for being late,” Roy said, lifting a gloved hand out of his pocket to wave at them. It felt good to have them back on. The second he’d stepped out of the building, he’d slipped them on and relief had washed over him. Not that he needed them to do damage, but this kind was easier to control. His real quirk did little more than hurt as far as he’d used it. “School was never my thing.”

“You’re our other new teacher?” That was Teyna Iida, who, as far as Roy had seen so far, was intensely earnest in every single way. He looked and sounded suspicious, which was amusing. Roy knew that he didn’t look like much in his civilian clothes. He probably looked more like a businessman than a pro hero. He didn’t need a fancy costume to be flashy though. That was where he and Aizawa agreed at least.

Ah, so most of them hadn’t recognized him yet. That was good. “Do I not look it?”

There was a slight unease in the crowd of students as they looked at one another, trying to figure out what they were supposed to say or how to react to his attitude. Aizawa had put them on edge. Only two people had given reactions that made Roy think that they knew him.

Katsuki Bakugou was one of them. His sharp red eyes had widened a little and his normally tense jaw had gone slightly slack; in a flash, as if realizing what he was doing, he wiped them away and replaced it with a knowing smirk. He looked pleased, like he was happy with this outcome. Even better. If Bakugou was a fan of the Flame Alchemist, it would make it easier for Roy to be able to push him past his limits.

Shoto Todoroki was the other one. Roy had spotted him first in the crowd as he’d walked up to them. The boy had been standing slightly apart from everyone else, as if he didn’t really belong in the group but had been thrown in with them anyways. And he probably didn’t. Knowing Endeavor, the man had more than likely put Todoroki through the kind of intense training that most kids didn’t get until their second year at U.A. The second Todoroki spotted him, the kid had frozen on the spot, as if struck by his own quirk.

The green-haired kid with the ridiculously strong quirk that punched back, Izuku Midoriya, eyed him with some sort of suspicion, his lips moving as he muttered under his breath as he thought aloud to himself. It looked like he was piecing things together. Might as well give him a hand. Now all Roy needed was a volunteer.

“If school isn’t your thing, then why are you teaching us?” Edward Elric demanded with his arms folded across his chest in that stereotypical moody teenager way.

There it was. Nice of him to volunteer, no matter how unsuspecting he was.

Roy snapped his fingers rather casually, and (what he considered) a miniscule ball of fire exploded a few inches from Edward’s feet, sending the kid flailing backwards. It was such a comical scene that Roy couldn’t help but laugh. Had the fire actually touched the boy’s shoes, it might melted or burned some of the rubber, but Roy was careful. It wasn’t like he was going to hurt the kids. They’d have to get better before he started trying to scare them. The fire wasn’t even a blip on the radar of his true power, but then he rarely even used that when fighting villains. Only Riza knew that he was truly holding back. Going one hundred percent -- or plus ultra -- was too dangerous.

Nonetheless, the little fire was enough to get everyone’s attention though. Anyone that had had doubts before were now gawking where the fire had suddenly appeared and then back at him.

“Y-you’re the Flame Alchemist!” Midoriya exclaimed, sounding nearly overwhelmed with excitement. A visible thrill went through the students as they all began to talk at once. Roy did not think Midoriya’s eyes could get any bigger and he stood ramrod straight. A few meters to his left, Bakugou planted his hands on his hips and outright sneered at his classmate, like Midoriya was nothing more than a bug under his boot. Hm, Bakugou might be rougher around the edges than Roy had anticipated.

Roy shrugged his shoulders. “Mustang is fine at school.” Outside of it, of course, was another matter.

He could do this, he realized. Sure, he’d taken the job and he’d told Nezu and Riza that he could handle it, but a part of him in the back of his mind had wondered if maybe this was a mistake. That it would end up being another one of his failures. But seeing these kids now and the enthusiasm that they brought to the table, Roy found himself ready to return it tenfold. They’d be better than he had ever dreamed to be. They’d be good. They’d be heroes.

It wasn’t going to be easy though and certainly not always fun. It never was.

“Lesson number one and two,” Roy told them in a voice that commandeered their attention and forced them to go silent. “As a hero, you’re going to end up doing a lot of things you might not necessarily like in order to do what’s best.” He could attest to that. He wasn’t a teacher, but he would be now. “And always be on your guard. That was nothing. Villains won’t be kind and so therefore neither will I. If you want a pat on the back, you can go to All Might, but in my class, I expect you to fight back or suffer the consequences and they will be quite unpleasant.”

That caused a ruckus again. Some of the kids began to pump themselves up, most notably Bakugou and Midoriya in their own separate ways. Edward was scowling at him, furious that he’d been used as an example, so he would probably spend at least the rest of the class fighting with Roy on some level. Todoroki’s eyes were still locked on the spot where the fire had appeared, which was a curious reaction. He knew that the boy’s quirk allowed him to create both fire and ice, but he seemed almost...uneasy now.

“Aizawa informed me of your physical tests using your quirks,” Roy said, clasping his hands began his back. “Some of you came up with some seriously impressive results by pushing your quirks to the limit.” He shot a smile at one of girls with impossibly pink cheeks. “Infinity on the ball throw? You put those boys to shame.”

He hadn’t thought that Ochako Uraraka’s cheeks could get any pinker, but they did and he had to fight the urge to laugh again. A few of the other girls pat her on the back or ribbed her teasingly. Teenagers were so easy to mess with that it almost wasn’t fun. Almost.

“It’s important that you all learn the limits of your quirk and continuously push past that limit to strengthen them,” Roy continued. He noted the anticipation building up in the students, how eager they were all to let loose. It was hard to do outside of school. There were always rules or laws and some quirks were too strong to be used at full power without purpose. “But we’re not going to do that today. You’ll be doing something different.”

The reaction was like deflating a balloon and letting it fly wildly in the air until it died. The students looked at one another in confusion and disappointment. Bakugou looked as close to being crushed as his moody face would let him while Todoroki appeared steady and cool, but Roy thought he saw some relief in the latter’s mismatched eyes.

“Like what?” a startlingly pink girl, Mina Ashido, piped up.

“Shut up and he might tell us,” Bakugou snapped.

Roy acted as if neither one of them had spoken. “You will have plenty of time to practice using your quirks at mass capacity in combat, but that’s not the most difficult thing to do. In a fight, you’ll expect the need to go all out in order to get the job done.” He shook his head. “That’s not the case. The smallest, precise attack can change the course of a fight and those I can guarantee you are much harder than you think. A large attack does not require nearly as much concentration or even accuracy.”

“They also cause more collateral damage,” Midoriya put in with a kind of intense thoughtfulness.

“That’s right,” Roy agreed, “and as heroes, it’s a part of our duty to keep that to a minimum.”

Not all heroes considered that. Some forgot it in the heat of battle. Their quirks were so strong that it was only natural that things broke around them. It had taken a few months for Roy’s childhood apartment complex to be rebuilt after a hero had unintentionally caused it to collapse in on itself. It had taken only a few minutes for it to come crashing down. He hadn’t even received a slap on the wrist for it; instead he’d been given interviews and gratitudes for his work in taking down a villain.

No one interviewing that hero had asked about the young couple that had died in the collapse. They had just been collateral damage that was swept under the rug, left to be forgotten. Roy hadn’t though, even if his memories of his parents were foggy at best now. Time and someone rooting around in his head had taken them from him.

“The right attack, no matter how small, can be effective and damaging if precise.” Roy pulled out a baseball from an equipment bag and tossed it in his hand. “Anyone want to give it a go?” None of them wanted to step up first, concerned about looking foolish. “No one?”

Bakugou stepped up, his feet scuffing the grass. “Whatever. I’ll do it. This will be cake.”

“Excellent.” Just as Roy had suspected, the boy who Aizawa had used as an example moved to do it again. Bakugou would not want to be seen as afraid and he didn’t think he’d look foolish. Poor kid. Without warning, Roy turned and tossed the ball over to Uraraka, who caught it clumsily in surprise. “Why don’t you do the honors?” That seemed to irritate Bakugou even more. He rolled his eyes, but pulled his hands out of his pockets, flexing his fingers. “She’s going to throw the ball as hard as she can with her quirk and I want you to use as much power as you deem necessary to destroy it when you think it’s as far as you can reach it.”

All he got was a wave of Bakugou’s hand and a “tch” in response, his back already turned. Roy nodded to Uraraka, who hesitated for a second and then let loose. The ball soared high in the air with no intention of coming back down and Bakugou, essentially, exploded.

The explosion that Bakugou let loose was a lot like standing next to someone that triggered a landmine. It was way too powerful, forcing some of the kids to jump back in shock. The whole field seemed to glow with fire and the ground actually shook. Only Roy and Todoroki had held their ground, both of them too used to fire to flinch away from it. Even Bakugou seemed exhilarated, as if seeing what he was truly capable of for the first time. Nothing but some ash that fell to the ground remained of the ball.

“Wow! That was awesome!”

“You almost hit me, you ass!”

Bakugou threw them a lazy smirk. “Move out of the way next time then.”

“Very impressive,” Roy admitted. Definitely like him at that age. Bakugou was all power, but he had no direction for it yet beyond becoming a hero. If he could figure out a way to direct those explosives instead of just letting them fire off, he would really be able to do some damage. Roy tossed another ball to Uraraka, who looked a little dazed from the blast. “Again. But this time much smaller. I’m talking an explosion no bigger than the ball.”

The confidence didn’t waver from Bakugou’s face. “Yeah, yeah, throw it already.”

Uraraka glanced at Roy, who nodded his head, and she threw the second ball. Once more, Bakugou waited until he thought it was as far as his quirk would go before letting off a more contained explosion, so that it shot out like a beam of light instead of one big explosion.

And was off by at least three meters.

In a matter of seconds, Bakugou went from total confidence to rage, using his quirk to launch himself off the ground towards the ball and setting off a spatter of explosions in the air like fireworks until nothing remained. He was red in the face and panting by the time he dropped back down, glaring at the sky like it had offended him somehow before turning that molten lava focus on Uraraka, whose protests of “I didn’t do anything different!” went unheard by him.

“Not so easy, is it?” Roy said smugly. He had known it wouldn’t work. As of right now, Bakugou’s range with his quirk was highly limited. To hit a target far away, he had to use a much larger explosion and it lacked some serious control. The ground was scorched where his fire had hit. Hopefully the groundskeeper wouldn’t be too mad.

Bakugou turned on him. “My quirk--” But then he snapped his mouth shut. Someone with as much pride as him would never admit out loud to any sort of weakness, especially with their quirk.

The fact was that Bakugou’s quirk, however powerful it was (and it truly was dripping with potential), was not meant for such precise activity. It was partly why Roy had decided on working on it first. It had been his problem. He could blow a building up, but he had struggled using it against people without hurting them. Some quirks were meant for destruction; all quirks, if nurtured right, were meant for saving. Roy was certain of it.

This time, Roy tossed a baseball to Bakugou, who snatched it out of the air one-handed and held it like he wanted  to squeeze it flat. “As hard as you can, if you will, like with Aizawa.”

Bakugou stretched his arm, swinging it back and then in a circle, before launching the ball in the air like it was a rocket. Roy waited, yawned, and then looked back to the sky before snapping his fingers. He could have simply timed the fire to explode around the ball, but he wanted something a little more eye-catching than that. A thin line of fire, no larger than yarn, zipped through the air like lightning until it connected with the ball and exploded like the end of a bottle rocket. It wasn’t explosively loud or terrifying like Bakugou's had been. Burnt leather, stuffing, and ash rained down on them, but it was still possible to tell what it had been before by looking at the pieces.

Everyone gawked in astonishment. To them, it looked as easy to Roy as breathing.

“That,” Roy told them, “is precision. If I can do that, just think what I can do in close quarters and combat.”

Edward glowered and grumbled under his breath, “Smug bastard.”

Next to him, Midoriya was much more enthusiastic. “Oh! Like your fight with that villain in May of last year! His healing quirk was so strong that his skin was fire resistant and he’d broken into a chemical plant. Obviously your fire quirk would have reacted negatively to the chemicals he’d stolen. But you were able to take him down by, um, well--” His brain had finally caught up with his mouth as he recalled the events like it had been yesterday. Not one of Roy’s kinder takedowns or finer moments, but it had been necessary. No one else could get near the villain without the threat of him releasing the gas or one of them breaking the containers. Riza hadn’t been around for that one.

“Oy, don’t skip the best part,” Bakugou drawled in a sharp tone, as if demanding that Midoriya get it right. Like he was telling Midoriya to suck it up and tell the damn truth. “He burned the villain’s eyes and mouth with pinpoint accuracy and nothing else. The villain’s skin was fire resistant, but not underneath, so the Flame Alchemist burned him from the inside out, allowing him no time to heal.”

The class dissolved into a frenzy of whispers and Roy let them. It was clear that not everyone had known about it and he knew that it would shape their view of him. He could cut the talking quick or he could let them work things out on their own. The latter was the better choice. They’d talk about it regardless. If they still felt comfortable to do it while he was right in front of him, he was in the clear.

“That’s really scary…” one of the girls whispered.

“He’s crazy strong!” another replied.

“Isn’t he kind of dangerous to be a teacher?” a boy asked quietly.

“That doesn’t...sound like what a hero would do...but if there wasn’t another option…”

“Like he said earlier, sometimes you’ve gotta do things you don’t like in order to do what’s best.”

They had tried to keep that fight under wraps because of the brutality it had took to take the villain down, but there had been too many witnesses. Roy still believed one of the other heroes on the scene had leaked the info first, but no one had copped to anything, not even when Riza questioned them. Some of the others that didn’t like him might lie to his face, but usually not hers. It had done little to damage his reputation as a hero, considering the severity and desperation of the situation, but he knew some people looked at him differently.

The villain had survived the attack and he had healed as well -- eventually.

Roy had never killed anyone, but he had come closer far more times than he liked to admit. It appeared as if a few of these kids were read up on those times. Midoriya seemed nervous, Bakugou thrilled, Edward disdainful, and Todoroki…. Nothing. He was a blank page.

“Are you all done yet?” Roy sighed.

The class jumped to a start. “Yes, sir!”

“Pair up in two’s. Let’s see if any of you are good at close combat.” Roy thought a few of them were probably leagues ahead of others, so he hoped they’d pair up accordingly. “And remember, only small uses of your quirk. If I see anything big or near maximum, you’ll regret having a quirk.”

Well, this was going to be fun.


	7. Friendly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Izuku talks to Edward and Alphonse about why they want to become heroes; Bakugou gets a life lesson from Mustang; and Izuku meets Winry from the support course.

It turned out that Ed and his brother Alphonse had had to move into the dorms upon their acceptance into U.A. since they weren’t from around here. It made sense. Students from all over the country, maybe even the world, fought their way into the high school. It had the top hero program out there. Izuku happened to be lucky that he lived in the city where it was located. Actually, in retrospect, he felt like he’d been lucky all around, even if All Might had assured him that he’d worked hard for this.

Because the two brothers lived in the dorms though, Alphonse admitted that they had been eating junk food for the most part. They missed having a home cooked meal. Izuku had invited them over for dinner without a second thought and then remembered that he had to ask his mom. Of course she’d said yes. He thought she might have even cried, as embarrassing as that was. Neither one of them could remember the last time he had had any friends over.

Izuku tried not to think of that though. Being quirkless had affected not just his dreams, but the way other kids had looked at him. He didn’t want to think that Ed or Alphonse might not be friends with him if he didn’t have a quirk. They seemed like the kind of people that wouldn’t be like that, but… He would never know.

“Aizawa is really scary!” Alphonse exclaimed as they walked to Izuku’s place. “I thought for sure that he was going to really expel someone.” He gave Izuku a relieved smile. “I’m glad it was just a trick.”

Ed was clearly the more doubtful of the two, the one that questioned things more. “He doesn’t seem like the type that would lie about that though.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. “He doesn’t seem like the type that would lie about  _ anything _ .”

“It did force us to produce our best results with our quirks,” Alphonse pointed out.

Still, Ed shook his head. “Not all of our quirks are suited for physical tests though. His certainly isn’t.”

“That’s why he had to cultivate other skills as a hero,” Izuku said, thinking back to the way Aizawa had restrained Bakugou from attacking him while canceling out their quirks and lecturing them at the same time. The look in his bloodshot eyes had been piercing. He had to fight the urge to shudder. The number one hero wouldn’t do that. He was going to have to get a hell of a lot tougher if he was going to do this. “He built them around the kind of hero he wanted to become.”

“The kind of hero he wanted to become…” Ed repeated thoughtfully, as if he’d never considered it before.

Izuku had known in his heart what kind of hero he had wanted to be since he was a child. He wanted to become the greatest hero that ever was, even (especially) if it meant surpassing his idol. He wanted to become the number one hero. And as much as he screamed and fought, Kacchan did as well, just in his own way. To him, there was nothing less than becoming number one. He had been that way since Izuku could remember. It was number one or that was it.

Honestly, it was a shame that they were opposite of each other when they were on the same side and Izuku really did want Kacchan to accomplish his dreams despite his horrible behavior and antagonistic treatment, but…

That number one spot was Izuku’s to claim.

“Why did you two apply for the hero course?” Izuku asked.

Alphonse clenched one of his hands into a fist and gave him a determined look. “I want to save people from disaster and protect them!” He then unclenched his fist and smiled shyly. “I guess that’s kind of basic.”

“No way!” Izuku replied. “It’s very honorable. So would you want to focus on rescue, like Thirteen?”

Clearly relieved that Izuku didn’t think him dumb, Alphonse nodded his head. He looked down at his unclenched hand and raised the other to join it. “My quirk gives me a lot of protection. In my armor form, I’m a lot stronger and I can take a lot of hits without any repercussion. I also have endless endurance. I don’t get tired while in it so I can keep running for miles without taking a break.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Ed interjected. “He’s not joking when he says he’s stronger. In all honesty, he’s a better fighter than me.”

“Really?” Izuku asked. Alphonse blushed, but nodded his head. “Wow, that’s cool. Your quirk would work for both rescue and combat if need be.” He turned to Ed. “What about you?”

Ed pondered the question for a while, his hand still sunk in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. Izuku had noticed him thinking about it since he had brought it up. This was clearly that he hadn’t thought about directly. He wanted to be a hero, no doubt, but what kind? Why? Everyone thought that was an easy question, but it really wasn’t. Of course Izuku wanted to save people and protect them. Of course he wanted to give hope and bring peace. But becoming a hero was more than that.

Becoming a hero was his very being. It was who he was -- who he had been denied upon being born quirkless. It was just him.

So what was Ed truly trying to accomplish by coming to U.A.?

“I guess,” Ed finally said, definitely sounding like it was more than just a guess, “I want to keep people from suffering or dying pointlessly.”

“You value life,” Izuku said gently. It reminded him of how Ed had dealt with the robots during the entrance exam. Everyone else had been busy destroying them to earn points while Ed transformed them into something else. In a sense, he hadn’t killed them. They had lived on in their own ways, just unable to do harm.

Ed nodded his head. “Hm, yeah.”

Knowing that it was a good idea to change tracks and he was curious, Izuku asked, “So what did you think of Mustang’s class today?”

As predicted, Ed scoffed. “He’s  _ the worst _ . Who thought it would be a good idea for him to become a teacher?”

“You have to admit that he’s really strong,” Alphonse said in a tone that suggested he was used to calming down Ed whenever he was riled up. It kind of reminded Izuku of dealing with Kacchan, but no, Ed wasn’t mean. He just had a lot of passion and it got the better of him. “And he knows what he’s doing with his quirk.”

“I really wasn’t expecting that lesson from him,” Izuku added. “His quirk seems so…” -- he waved his hands in a large circle -- “ _ grand _ . You know?”

The little ball of fire that had startled Ed had been little more than a huff from Mustang and while his destruction of the baseball had been small it had been incredible. Heroes with quirks like his -- people like Kacchan -- typically relied on large displays of power. To see something so large do the exact small amount of damage that he desired was unique. When Izuku had realized who was teaching them, he’d expected more of the same as Aizawa: pushing themselves and their quirks to their limit. Mustang was known for being loud, cocky, and brash.

It made Izuku think that perhaps he had been looking at Mustang all wrong the whole time. All those times he had fought a villain and won, had it been a tightly controlled use of his quirk? If so, was he capable of more?

The fight that they’d talked about during class came to mind. It had come out in public, but no actual footage had surfaced. If any had been taken, they were smart enough to know not to publish it online. That kind of control over a quirk was something to think about. Izuku wished more than anything he had it. If he could control his quirk even an inch without breaking himself, he’d be grateful. As of now, forcing All for One into a single finger was all he had.

“It must be due to his time working with Hawk’s Eye,” Izuku decided.

Ed gave him a look. “You think anyone can get through that ego of his?”

Izuku laughed. “If he lets them, sure. Flame Alchemist and Hawk’s Eye are probably the most well-known duo in the hero world.”

Because the Flame Alchemist had moved back to the area five years ago, Izuku had started paying more attention to him. Izuku had even seen one of his fights in person. It was imprinted in his mind. The only thing that he could compare it to was when Bakugou had been captured by that sludge villain, but even then, it hadn’t been so messy. The fire…. It had looked like it was  _ alive _ .

“You sure do know a lot about pro heroes,” Alphonse noted.

Red immediately overtook Izuku’s cheeks. “I, ah--” He laughed nervously. “It’s interesting, isn’t it? Studying their styles and techniques? It’s a good source for ideas.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Ed said with a chuckle. Izuku was used to being called a nerd, but normally it was an insult. He never would’ve known the difference if not for Ed. The other boy said it so differently, like it was a good thing, and it made Izuku smile. “No wonder we get along.”

No wonder indeed.

*

After school, Bakugou spent too much time gazing down at his right hand, but he couldn’t help but feel as if it had betrayed him somehow. His quirk didn’t fail him. It was amazing. The only other time that he had felt let down by it had been when that sludge monster had captured him, but he would’ve gotten away eventually. He would have saved himself without any help from Deku. His quirk would help propel him to the top and no one would stop him.

The moment his explosion had missed the ball, it had felt like he had been punched in the gut. Bakugou wasn’t stupid -- he knew that a distance shot with his quirk would be difficult -- but he hadn’t thought that he would fail so obviously. He couldn’t do it. He’d realized it in that second that he couldn’t and for a few seconds he had watched in horror as the ball went farther and farther out of reach. On the ground, he couldn’t do anything, so he had shot into the air like a rocket.

It had felt good to explode the stupid thing in the moment, but when he had come back down, he had been hit by the fact that he had blown up himself. That wasn’t typically an issue. He had never been self-conscious about it before because anyone else’s opinion didn’t matter. Except he hadn’t just been around his classmates or any old teacher. The Flame Alchemist was right there, watching his every move. Bakugou had never once in his life felt the need to explain himself, but it had started to slip out of his mouth before he managed to catch himself.

_ “My quirk--” _

Yeah, his quirk. The one that had so clearly not been compatible with Mustang’s third lesson for the day. The ease with which Mustang had followed through with the example was awesome, but Bakugou had been too busy steaming over his misstep to truly appreciate it. When their hero costumes came in, as long as they followed his design ideas, he would have a way to use his quirk for long directional explosions, but they would still be massive. That had been the idea and he still really liked it, but he wanted to be capable of everything.

When they had talked about that particular hero and villain fight, Bakugou had noticed that Mustang had appeared kind of… Well, it looked like he’d been uncomfortable, like he didn’t want to talk about it, but then he hadn’t stopped them, not even when the rest of the class had begun muttering amongst themselves about it. If Bakugou didn’t know any better, he would’ve said that Mustang wasn’t proud of what he’d done.

That was ridiculous though. He’d done what needed to be done. That was what heroes did. That was what he would do. Who cared about what other people thought? People’s opinions didn’t defeat villains.

“Still mad?”

Bakugou spun around and saw Mustang standing there, leaning against the wall of the school. He looked around and realized that he was still standing outside of the building. Clenching his hand into a fist, he dropped it to his side and ground out a simple, “No.”

“If you came in here thinking that you’re already the best,” Mustang pointed out idly, “you’re never going to grow.” He shrugged his shoulders casually, like none of this mattered even though it meant everything to Bakugou. “You don’t have to, of course, but even the top heroes have room for improvement.”

“Is that why you’re not the number one hero?” Bakugou shot back.

Mustang didn’t take the bait. Frustratingly he smiled, but not in the kind, understanding way that teachers usually did that pissed Bakugou off. It was the type of smile that said Mustang knew something Bakugou didn’t. It was unpleasant. For some reason, it made Bakugou feel a little more at ease, because this was the hero that he knew. The kind of hero that was unforgiving and unflinching, the kind that he wanted to be.

“I can always stand to grow some more and there are a lot of reasons why I’m not the number one hero,” Mustang replied, “but that isn’t one of them.”

“Why aren’t you then?” Bakugou asked. The thought had crossed his mind before. Mustang’s hero ranking sat steadily at number four no matter what he did. Every time Bakugou was certain that the Flame Alchemist would rise further, he didn’t, even though Bakugou knew that the hero was better than that. It was as if he had hit some sort of ceiling and couldn’t go any higher.

Mustang looked at him, the smile gone from his face, replaced with an unreadable expression. It was like he was trying to figure out what to say, if he could say anything. For a moment, Bakugou thought he might not get an answer and he was prepared to demand one when the hero finally said, “Because I can’t.”

It was an unexpected answer said so simply and it took Bakugou aback. He had thought that Mustang might try to give him some bullshit lesson or maybe an excuse or an explanation that he would be the number one hero in the future. Never give up or something like that. But it wasn’t that at all.

“You can’t,” Bakugou repeated. Something in the way Mustang said those words didn’t feel right. It didn’t sound like he was saying that he couldn’t become number one because he wasn’t strong or smart enough. He sounded fully confident in his abilities. It sounded more like he couldn’t because it was truly impossible -- like he wasn’t allowed, which  no sense. The thing about heroes was that they made the impossible possible. They made the possibilities limitless.

As quick as the moment came over them, Mustang changed the mood, rubbing the back and putting on a sheepish grin. “Ah, I wouldn’t make a good symbol of peace anyways,” he sighed flippantly. “I’m much too restless.” He pushed away from the wall and walked past Bakugou to leave the school. “Don’t cause too much trouble.”

Bakugou put a faint scowl back on his face. Damn teachers, always trying to parce off advice. Still, he could and would get stronger. That was the point of this place, was it not?

*

“Oh, your class looks so different from mine!” a girl’s voice came from inside the room.

Izuku hesitated for only a second before stepping inside. The girl had been very loud, her voice carrying outside the room and down the hallway, but what he noted was her astonishment. When he peered inside, he saw that there was an unfamiliar girl in the room. Had they gotten a new classmate last minute? They already had the max amount of people in 1-A. Unless….

Unless someone had been booted out.

Izuku did a quick look around the room, counting everyone in his class. His heart leapt into this throat when he noticed one person missing. He opened his mouth to ask about them when someone bumped hard into his shoulder, almost knocking him down face first, and growled, “Move it!”

Panic flared in him briefly, but then relief washed over him, the two contradicting emotions leaving him to feel confused in the end. “Kacchan!”

All he got was a sharp glare from Kacchan and then he slunk to his chosen desk. He walked right past the blonde-haired girl as if he hadn’t noticed her in the slightest. Did he truly not see that there was a stranger in their room? Did he even know that she wasn’t a part of their class? Sometimes Kacchan acted like he was the only one in the class besides his rivals.

“Hey, Midoriya!” Ed called out. Izuku made his way over to them. The girl was talking with Ed and Alphonse, sitting atop Ed’s desk in a way that was making Iida twitch on the other side of the classroom. “This is my friend, Winry. She’s in the support class. She came to see what all the fuss is about the hero course.”

That made sense. Izuku held out a hand for her to shake and smiled. “Support class? So you build gadgets that help heroes use their quirks to the top of their abilities?” He had seen some insanely brilliant ingenuity when it came to creating support pieces to help heroes. It was really clever. Many of them had quirks that helped them build their gadgets. He was so lost in thinking about all the different tech that he briefly forgot that he was talking to a girl.

“Oh yeah,” Ed said with a laugh, “she’s a huge tech freak.”

Winry smacked him in the arm. “Shut up, you dork.” She turned back to face Izuku with a bright smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Ed told me about you. He says you have a crazy strong quirk!”

Blood rushed to Izuku’s face and he turned as red as a tomato. Ed had talked to his friend about him? Whenever Kacchan had told people about him, it was usually about him being a quirkless nobody. “I, uh, well, it’s not, um, yeah, ha--”

From his seat behind his desk, Ed laughed again. It was _  at _  Izuku, but it didn’t sound  _ mean _ . It wasn’t like Kacchan, who made jokes and barked insults at his expense and then laughed at Izuku to make him feel small. Ed’s laugh sounded more like an inside joke  _ with _  him. “He’s so modest,” Ed said.

Winry hopped off the desk. “You could stand to have a bit of modesty. Your ego is gonna get you in trouble.”

“It’s not ego,” Ed countered. “It’s confidence.”

“Could’ve fooled me with that big head,” Winry threw back.

Before Ed could fire something in return, a tired, flat voice asked, “Did you switch classes, Rockbell?”

All three kids spun around to see Aizawa standing in front of the classroom. Well, standing was kind of a relative term, seeing as how he was still zipped up tight in his yellow sleeping bag. He was watching them with the kind of look that said he would rather be in bed than here but what could he do?

Winry jerked straight as if she’d been shocked and shook her head, “No, sir.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“Leaving, sir!” Winry didn’t even spare them a parting glance before rushing out of the room with a speed that came close to matching Iida’s. Izuku turned to look at Ed, who gave him a shrug of his shoulders, and then Izuku sat down behind his desk.

It was strange, but it had never occurred to Izuku that they could have friends outside of this class. There was the other hero course, 1-B, and then also support, business, and general studies. Izuku was so absorbed by his own class that he’d forgotten about the rest. It would be a good idea to know people in the other classes, especially someone in the support course. The kids in 1-A weren’t his only competition for the number one spot.


	8. Honest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy gets a painful shock while watching the Bakugou vs. Midoriya fight during All Might's combat scenario class and another surprising one when conversing with All Might.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho, are we getting more information about what happened in Roy's past? More parallels between him and Bakugou? Y'all know I can't help myself. Also, it's important to me that All Might is not just a hero to these dumb kids, but also to his colleagues as well. For all Roy's talk about these kids needing people to believe in them, he needs it too.

The teachers all worked together to teach the hero class, but they normally taught on separate days. Occasionally the teachers would do a joint class, but that was planned in advance. Roy liked the fact that he didn’t have any of the other teachers looking over his shoulders while he taught. Of course he wasn’t under the illusion that he wasn’t being watched. He knew that there were multiple cameras around the campus and, as a new teacher, he would be scrutinized more. There was nothing that happened at U.A. that Nezu didn’t know about, at least not anymore.

Even if Roy hadn’t really done anything at the school, Nezu had tightened security after the Incident. Villains had never been able to attack from within the school, but they could certainly attack and influence the students once they were on the outside.

However, he was curious about All Might. He was the number one hero, but how would he be as a teacher? Not that Roy wanted to know how he compared, but it was an intriguing turn of events. What Roy was really interested in though was seeing the students in action with their quirks. Combat training was where many students began to show the differences in quirks. Some outshined others, which set the pace for other classes. If you could stand out in combat, more than likely others would see you as a fierce competitor.

During his first combat training simulation, Roy had gone in expecting to blow the competition out of the water, only to be made a fool of by Aizawa. He could still remember how much it had burned him to get bested by the other boy who didn’t even have a combative quirk like he did. The second he’d called for his quirk and it hadn’t come, he had been shocked. For a brief moment, he thought that he’d done something wrong. By the time he’d realized that Aizawa had canceled his quirk, it had been too late to dodge the punch to his face.

To say that he had nearly brought the building down would have been an understatement. Roy could have done it if he’d wanted to, but with fellow classmates inside, he’d had to force himself to be cooler. It almost didn’t work. So lost in his own humiliation and determination to show himself, he’d overdone his quirk and destroyed half the place. His team had beat Aizawa’s, but his teacher had scolded him and Riza had been upset. He had won the respect of many of his classmates, but also their fear. At the time, he’d liked it.

Later on, that same fear had made him sick to his stomach and angry with everyone.

When Roy had asked All Might if he could observe, the number one hero had been surprised but not against the idea. In fact, he seemed enthusiastic in Roy’s interest. Roy had explained what he was doing in his class -- teaching them to use their quirks on smaller, more precise attacks -- and how he wanted to see what their quirks were like on the opposite end to improve his lessons for each individual student. It wasn’t a lie. How could he teach them how to do attacks on small scales when he didn’t know their max?

Also, he couldn’t deny being curious to see them in action. Some students thrived in combat situations while others froze, having never used the full extent of their quirk against another person. If someone had a quirk that wasn’t typically known to be combative, they were less likely to use their quirk in a fight. It would be a nice change to be surprised.

“Why the hell is he here?” Edward complained, jabbing a thumb back in Roy’s direction. Upon stepping into the control room to watch the first combat round, the kid had spotted him and immediately pulled up a scowl. He was still holding a grudge against Roy for startling him with that small ball of fire.

Roy just smiled in response. The last thing that was going to bother him was students not liking him. He was here to teach them, not be their best friend and hold their hands. Nezu hadn’t done that with him and the principal had apparently been fond of him.

“He’s observing today,” All Might explained patiently. He was much better with kids. Roy could tell that all the kids admired him, stars practically in their eyes whenever they gazed at him, except for when he’d pull out a notecard on his lesson. So he was getting the hang of this teaching thing too. It sure wasn’t for everyone, not even the top heroes.

“It’s your class,” Edward grumbled.

“We might be teaching many of these classes separately,” All Might pointed out, “but the lessons and knowledge we instill in you will be used throughout all of them.”

If they were hoping to do well in Roy’s class, they would need to pay attention in All Might’s and vice versa. This was a good lesson today, similar to the first combat simulation Roy had done. It would teach them to use their quirks in close quarters. They couldn’t -- or at least shouldn’t -- go all out inside of a building where a potential bomb laid in wait. He had a feeling though that some of them might not listen.

Judging from the way Bakugou was steaming on the screen, his hands balled into fists and his red eyes like lava, there was going to be one hell of a show.

“Mustang,” All Might called, appearing in front of him and holding out a hand. Roy blinked, his direction moving from the screen to the hero, and looked down at whatever All Might was holding. “An earpiece, so you can hear what’s going on. It will help you analyze the situation more.”

Oh, that was… That was thoughtful. Kind even. All Might didn’t have to do this since it was his class, but there he was, thinking of other people. Teaching wasn’t a competition. They had to help each other in order to help these kids. That was what heroes did.

Taking the earpiece, Roy said, “Thank you,” genuinely meaning it. He put the earpiece in and returned his hands to his pockets as All Might went to the front of the class. His place in the room kept him in the shadows while the screens cast a soft glow on All Might and the rest of the class. He was just observing here, partly removed from everyone else. It had been like that for so long that it was more second nature than anything else.

The exercise started in earnest and they all began to watch. It was strange at first, listening to the children speak to one another as if they weren’t being listened to. It felt a lot like prying into someone’s head and hearing their inner thoughts, which was vaguely uncomfortable for the first minute or two. He didn’t like it when people seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, unless it was Riza, and to this day, anyone with a quirk that allowed them to get inside someone’s head made Roy more than wary.

However, Bakugou didn’t allow anyone much time to consider anything else but this battle. Unnaturally furious, in Roy’s opinion, the explosive boy attacked right out of the gate with a sneak attack that would’ve taken Midoriya and Uraraka out had Midoriya not reacted quickly. Bakugou still got a hit in, but he was wild with rage. So focused on Midoriya, he even let Uraraka run to find the fake bomb without so much as a glance.

Of course, he was letting his emotions clout his brain. Was he even thinking about the mission? Judging from the way he raged at Midoriya and attacked him, probably not. It was a temper tantrum, which was dangerous for a kid with his quirk. This was no typical anger though. Roy saw the look in Bakugou’s red hot eyes. It was disdain, fury, and perhaps a hint of disbelief.

It was like Bakugou was demanding,  _ How dare you think you can be near my level? _

Roy sighed. He knew that train of thought all too well. Bakugou was going to be a mess to deal with. All that power, all that anger, all that confidence -- all of it tangled up in a mess of pride and insecurities. If he wasn’t the best, then who was he? If he wasn’t the strongest, who was he?

When Midoriya took an opening to run and disappear on Bakugou, Roy almost laughed. The absolute incredulity in Bakugou made him look even worse. He went around blowing down doors indiscriminately, each blast stronger than the last as his anger grew higher, and screaming at Midoriya while the other boy stayed just out of sight. He couldn’t keep running though, not with Uraraka and Iida at a stand still over the bomb.

Still it was like Bakugou had completely forgotten the whole point of this exercise, solely focused on putting Midoriya in his place below him. There was clearly history and even bad blood between the two boys, more than Midoriya had let on to Uraraka before they went into the building. All Might had heard them talking too, but hadn’t reacted at all.

Even stranger was that Midoriya didn’t fight back against Bakugou with the same kind of rage, even though it was clear that Bakugou had used the strength of his quirk to shove Midoriya into the dirt more often than not. He had yelled back and fought just as hard, but it wasn’t rage that filled his voice but passion and determination. He fought with tenacity and cleverness, but without the use of his quirk, he was still not on par with Bakugou.

Why was he holding back? Why was he not using his quirk? Was it because he was afraid of the painful blowback? He’d broken his legs and his arm during the entrance exam after using his quirk just once and he had apparently broken his finger in Aizawa’s class. Roy had watched Midoriya during his class and had noted that, just as Todoroki didn’t use his left side while fighting, Midoriya had refrained from using his quirk at all.

The destroyed zero point robot came to mind, the thing completely obliterated. Was Midoriya afraid to use his quirk because it would hurt him -- or because it would hurt someone else?

In the room, the students were predictably wary of Bakugou’s violent behavior. Most of them, like Kirishima, seemed concerned while Edward and Todoroki looked unimpressed. All Might tensed up when Bakugou and Midoriya confronted each other again. This was getting out of hand and dissolving fast. The faint red glow of one of Bakugou’s gauntlets caught Roy’s eye and then the two teachers were left to gawk in horror as Bakugou explained what they were for.

It was just what Roy had been thinking Bakugou needed for his quirk. With the gauntlets storing up his flammable sweat, he would be able to shoot out an explosion that was both powerful and excellent for long range. He’d be able to hit targets even if they were far away. Except with that kind of power and the short distance between him and Midoriya in the hallway, it would be less like an explosion of fire and more like a bomb at close range.

“Young Bakugou!” All Might called out into the mic. “You’ll kill young Midoriya with that blast!”

Of course Bakugou didn’t listen, his finger on the hairpin trigger, his grin manic, his eyes wild as he shouted, “If I don’t hit him, I won’t kill him!”

The words knocked Roy back violently, shaking him to his core. His whole body stiffened, his eyes widened in shock, and he sucked in a gasp of air as he stared at Bakugou hard. He felt as if he’d been thrown into a dark cave, the words bouncing around his head until they finally struck something else. Something that he’d buried deep in that darkness, something he had tried very hard to forget.

_ “I won’t kill him; I’ll just make him wish I did.” _

But no, this was different. The rage was similar, but the hurt was missing. There was too much fire here. Roy could still remember how hot his anger had been, but how cold everything else was, like he couldn’t feel anything, like he’d burned himself out. Bakugou’s anger was just as pointed, focused only on Midoriya, but it  _ was _ focused. Despite looking wild and completely out of his mind with anger, he was controlled.

_ If I don’t hit him. _

_ I won’t do so much damage that this fight gets stopped. _

Bakugou was crazed with rage and he was vicious in his fighting, but he was holding himself back in a way, even if it didn’t look like it. If he could just do that with smaller, stronger explosions, if he could be this quick and clever without resorting to fury. He was controlling himself though and that was more than Roy could say about himself back then. He also knew that holding Bakugou back would only make things worse. Then he really would explode.

All Might snatched the mic. “Bakugou, st--”

“Don’t!” Roy interrupted, pushing off his spot from the wall, and All Might actually halted.

He didn’t know where the word had come from or why it had slipped out in the first place -- all he could think about was that Bakugou needed to learn some damn control and also have a little faith put in him that wasn’t about his power -- but it stopped All Might cold. It surprised Roy, who never would’ve expected the number one hero to truly listen to him, and it seemed to stun All Might a little as well. He must have been considering the same things.

Not a second later, Bakugou pulled the pin and let off the largest explosion that Roy had seen in a long time. It was absolutely breathtaking, the line of fire bursting through the hallway and through the door. By the time it stopped, there was a huge hole in the building and everything was scorched. It really was a miracle that Midoriya wasn’t more hurt. All Might let out a faint sigh of relief while Roy fell back against the wall.

My god, that explosion… If Bakugou was already this strong with his quirk, Roy was ecstatic to see what he would be capable of in a year. And concerned.

They all watched with bated breath as Bakugou and Midoriya continued to fight. Roy could see what was going to happen before Bakugou did. He’d pushed Midoriya into a corner, forcing the other boy to admit that he needed his quirk in order to beat him. What Bakugou didn’t know was that no matter how strong he was now, he could not compare to the brute force that was Midoriya’s quirk. If it was just a quirk fight, Bakugou would lose and Midoriya was playing on an entirely different level. Bakugou was so focused on fighting with his quirk that he wasn’t even thinking about the simulation or any other strategy.

That one-track mind was why he would lose.

The moment Midoriya unleashed his quirk and called out to Uraraka, everyone in the room jumped with excitement. Just as he had destroyed the massive zero point bot, his immense amount of strength blew a hole through all the floors and the roof of the building, which gave Uraraka plenty of material to work with.

None of that mattered to Bakugou. He looked so overcome by what he’d just witnessed that he didn’t even realize that he and Iida had lost. With those wide eyes of his and his stunned expression, he looked as if his entire world had been thrown off course and was now upside down. Like nothing made sense to him anymore. Roy could have told Bakugou that grass was purple and he might’ve believed it right now. He was lost.

More importantly, he was  _ falling _ and he wasn’t done just yet.

Roy could see it in his eyes -- that downward descent that would end with a much more painful explosion than the one he’d just created. It was necessary in order for him to get stronger. He had to go down before he could go up. He had to see firsthand that he wasn’t the strongest or the best in order to become it. Roy had done it too. They all had. It was a brutal and unforgiving process. Everyone went through it differently and the strongest typically suffered the hardest, but it was important to do.

The first person a hero had to overcome was themself. By doing that, Bakugou would be able to push himself even higher than even he thought possible.

Didn’t mean he would enjoy the landing though and sometimes, what people thought was rock bottom, was only just a step down to the first level.

*

Damn history class. Roy was still peeved over Nezu giving him that class to teach. He would’ve much preferred a science class, like chemistry or physics, especially considering his quirk, but no, he was teaching history this first year. Taking a slight break from sorting through the short essays the students had written, Roy leaned back in his seat, tilting his head and pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. He really did not want to do this, but he’d been the one to accept the job.

Teaching meant actually teaching. He couldn’t skate by with the bare minimum, not with future lives at stake. But he hated this part. It was so tedious and took so long. He was almost certain that some of the kids had copied each other’s essays with only a handful of changes. Ashido’s and Kaminari’s looked suspiciously similar. They were more focused on their hero class than their regular ones, but this was still a school. They had to pass their other classes in order to stay at U.A.

Roy just wished he didn’t have to go along for the ride too. He idly wondered if Aizawa’s sleeping bag was around so he could snag it and take a nap, regardless of whether Aizawa would willingly let him borrow it or not.

“Mustang.”

Roy’s eyes snapped open and he glanced over to the door without moving. All Might stood in the doorway, his hand still on the knob, a strangely hesitant look on his face. It didn’t look natural. If there was one thing All Might wasn’t, it was hesitant. Roy had seen the way the hero fought villains. He had watched the way that All Might threw himself into battle with all his heart.

Still, it looked like there was something on his mind and it had to do with Roy. He leaned forward so that the two chair legs hit the floor with a crack. He didn’t have to say anything for All Might to know that he was ready to listen to whatever he had to say. All Might nodded his head and stepped all the way in, shutting the door behind himself. When he sat down across from Roy, he looked comically large compared to him.

“You stopped me,” All Might finally said.

Ah, yes, Roy had been wondering if this talk might happen. “I’m sorry,” he replied carefully. He was sorry that he had jumped in where he shouldn’t, but he didn’t regret it either. He would’ve done it again. Bakugou needed to see that his best right now wasn’t good enough. “It was your class and it wasn’t my place to step in.”

All Might waved a hand. “I’m not upset. You reacted quicker than I did. I’m not used to that.”

“Still,” Roy said, “I told you that I was there to only observe. You didn’t need me stepping into your lesson.”

For some reason, one of All Might’s typical smiles appeared on his face. “Ha! I knew you were more honorable than Aizawa said.”

Roy shook his head. “Good thing you talked to him and not Yamada about me.”

“You went to school with them here, yes?” All Might asked.

It took Roy back to when he first met All Might in the entrance exam viewing room. He hadn’t been for certain if Nezu had told All Might about his history. He’d thought that Nezu had, but maybe he’d given Roy the chance to do it on his own terms. It had to be talked about eventually. Too many questions would come about. And if All Might or any of the other teachers found out about it on their own, any faith they had in Roy would shatter.

Bakugou had already spotted one inconsistency in his life: the fact that he could not rise any higher in hero ranks. It was a small price to pay all things considered. No matter what he did, no matter how much he accomplished as a pro hero, he would never be number one. It had pained him at first, but he’d still been knee deep in his guilt to argue with it. Besides, at the time, he had already known that he would have to leave the area, even the country, if he wanted to do any hero work.

Coming back had been a tough decision, but he’d been comforted by the fact that, besides Riza, he would never have to cross paths with anyone that knew him. He could come back home and pretend nothing happened. Coming back to U.A. was another matter. He couldn’t forget; he had to remember.

“Yes, I did,” Roy answered, back in that careful tone. How much did All Might know? If nothing, how much did Roy want him to know? “I was in the same class as Aizawa and Yamada. Kayama was a year ahead of us. I wouldn’t remind her of her age if I was you though.”

All Might gave a hearty laugh. “Duly noted.” He folded his hands on top of the table. “I wanted to thank you for your intervention during the lesson. I didn’t know whether to stop it or not and I’m glad I didn’t. I think both boys needed it in order to start improving.”

“It’s a hard lesson learned,” Roy murmured, “finding out that you’re not number one.”

“Is it still that way for you?” All Might asked.

Roy leaned back again. “I made my peace with it a long time ago.”

The nod from All Might was terribly understanding, which was odd coming from the hero that was number one, but perhaps he understood the sentiment. That there was something in his life that not even he could not change no matter what he did. Roy couldn’t imagine that happening in All Might’s life. As long as he smiled, it was like he could do anything. Even though he was a grown man and a pro hero, it was hard not to get overwhelmed by the light that shined from All Might.

“There is...actually something else that I needed to speak with you about,” All Might said, suddenly sounding and looking uncomfortable. Roy tilted his head curiously. “I’ve told the other teachers and of course Principal Nezu knows. He left it up to my discretion who to tell, but I feel that, as colleagues, we are on the same level and that requires honesty.”

It was now Roy’s turn to feel uncomfortable, but unlike All Might, he didn’t show it. He simply watched the other hero with a steady gaze, letting All Might know that he was patiently listening. It felt as if some sort of page was turning, like they were moving onto the next chapter, which wound shine some more light on this strange and new situation they had found themselves in.

“You of all people know that there are some fights between heroes and villains that aren’t made public,” All Might began. Roy inclined his head an inch forward in acknowledgement. Quite a few of Roy’s fights had been kept secret, if only because the severity of them. Many times, he was called in because of a villain with a fire quirk and those always ended messily. “I was involved in a fight that caused...severe permanent damage. I will never be the same as a hero. For obvious reasons, the fight was not made public.”

“The symbol of peace can’t appear weak in any way, no matter what,” Roy agreed, trying to absorb the knowledge. All Might was injured? To the point where not even Recovery Girl or any other hero with a healing quirk could fix? Surely science could do something. But no, if he said it wasn’t possible, then it wasn’t. All Might was not the giving up kind. “Those with less than pure intentions that would normally stay in the dark would start crawling out of the woodwork.”

All Might sighed and looked down at his folded hands. “I can only work for three hours a day as a hero before I... “ He closed his eyes. “Before I revert into my true form.”

Roy furrowed his brow. “Your...true form?”

“Please, Mustang,” All Might said, opening his eyes and piercing Roy with his serious gaze, “it is of the utmost importance that this remains a secret. It is dire. You can tell absolutely no one.”

To be honest, Roy didn’t know what to say. The only person that had ever put all their trust in him had been Riza and even he had hurt her back then. She still did now, even though he wasn’t quite sure he deserved it. He wanted to tell All Might to stop now -- to warn him that his trust and faith in Roy wasn’t deserved -- but it was too late for that. Roy already knew too much and he knew, even though it scared him, that he would have to tell All Might the dark truth sooner than later.

“I understand,” Roy found himself saying. No one, not even Riza.

As if hit by a burst of steam -- or no, it was coming from him -- All Might went from a man that was larger than life to a hollowed out stick of a man. It was only through a lot of practice that Roy did not jump, but he did raise his eyebrows in surprise. The difference was incredible and horrible at the same time. His patent yellow suit hung on his bony shoulders like they were a coat hanger. His hair and eyes were too big for his face, which was all angles from his bones. If he hadn’t seen All Might seconds ago, Roy wouldn’t have known it was him.

“I...don’t know what to say.” Roy sat up straight in his seat and swallowed. “This is…” He relaxed his body. “Okay.”

“That’s it?”

Roy ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t really know where to begin. You’re you -- you’re All Might -- and this is something else entirely. This is dangerous.” All Might nodded his head. Roy caught the way that the hero was watching him, as if gaging his reaction, not for shock but something else. “Were you warned that it might not be a good idea to tell me?”

“Yes,” All Might admitted. It didn’t hurt Roy in the slightest. It was their right to think that. “But I thought they were wrong. You showed excellent insight the other day during my class and I’ve seen you at work as well.” When All Might smiled in this form, it was totally different but somehow the same, as if even in his weakened form he could inspire hope. If only that were true. Roy felt a little bit helpless right now. “You act flashy and brash, but your first concern is always the safety of any hostages or civilians.”

An almost embarrassed chuckle slipped out. “Am I that obvious?”

“You hide it well, my friend,” All Might told him. “You’re deathly adamant against people seeing you as soft.”

“A nasty habit I developed as a child, I’m afraid,” Roy confirmed. He held out a hand and All Might reached out to shake it. His hand was still large, but it was boney and almost frail. It wounded Roy more than he liked to admit. “You’re still the number one hero, no matter what form you take. No one can inspire the way you do and I will always admire you for that.”

“You’re a good man, Roy Mustang.”

Roy grinned. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

It felt too close to the truth. Later, Roy told himself, later he would talk to All Might about his own dark secrets. For now, he was too selfish to let go of All Might’s view of him. To be seen as a truly good man, to be trusted, to have faith placed in him, to not have to worry about making up for what he did -- that was a sweet relief. It was the lull that All Might placed over everyone with his larger than life presence, power, and personality and Roy wanted to bask in it for just a little longer before ruining it.

Had he really changed all that much from how he’d been as a kid at U.A.? Maybe it was this place.


	9. Adapt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Ed's combat simulation class brings him closer to his classmates and it's time for Todoroki to get a life lesson.

Recovery Girl appeared slightly at a loss as she stared at Ed sitting on top of the bed in her office, a cheerful if not sheepish smile on his face and one of his legs in his hands. Well, it wasn’t really a leg, Ed reasoned. It was a metal prosthetic that he’d been forced to wear since the accident with his quirk. Of course it was upgraded as he grew, which seemed to be slower than average, but after five years it was basically like his flesh and blood leg, minus the fact that it couldn’t bleed.

He could still injure it, which usually involved him doing something terribly stupid or rash. He’d known that attacking Kirishima head on would end badly, but he couldn’t have known how bad. It turned out that the other boy’s hardening quirk was a lot stronger than he’d anticipated. Had he been kicking with his real leg, he would’ve known when to stop, but Ed had used his metal leg in hopes that it would compensate against Kirishima.

It had not.

Instead, he’d managed to bust it bad enough that when Kirishima managed to get a lucky hit in, his leg had broken partly off. Realizing that he was basically done for but not willing to give up unless he passed out -- especially not after that insane battle between Midoriya and Bakugou -- Ed had done the only thing he could think of. He was in an almost blinding amount of pain, but it was only hanging on by a thread anyways, so he’d torn the rest of his leg off and whacked Kirishima over the head with it like a baseball bat.

That had worked at least. Kirishima had been so shocked by seeing Ed rip off his leg, which he hadn’t known was just a prosthetic, that he’d frozen and panicked. It not only had the effect of slowing him down, but Kirishima had let his guard down completely, releasing his quirk and shouting,  _ “What are you doing!?” _

His team had won the combat training exercise and now he was down a leg sitting in the nurse’s office next to an in and out of it Midoriya.

_ Worth it. _

“I...don’t know what to say, young man,” Recovery Girl told him. “That’s not something I can fix.”

Ed laughed and set the leg down next to him. “No, I guess you can’t grow back limbs.”

It was still strange to feel the air on his skin where it had been amputated. He wore the prosthetic all the time, even when he was showering or sleeping. It was a part of him, connected to his body and mind like it was just another limb. That was the beauty of Winry’s skill and quirk. Sometimes even he forgot that it wasn’t real. He still got phantom pains in his leg and his prosthetic arm. They seemed to move just as quickly as the rest of him. The only difference was the weight. Made with the lightest metal, it was still more than bone and blood.

Recovery Girl got closer to inspect him. “This is an old wound.” Ed nodded his head. “And not your only one.”

Glancing around to make sure no one was there besides Midoriya and Recovery Girl, Ed pulled off white glove on his left hand to reveal metal. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed or even ashamed. He just liked to keep some things to himself. Midoriya was out of it right now, breathing softly in his bed while he recovered from the nurse’s quirk that was healing him slowly. Ed wouldn’t have minded him knowing, but for now, it felt good to not be seen as someone with a weakness, even if he himself didn’t think it was.

“I, uh, had an accident with my quirk,” Ed explained vaguely.

Recovery Girl tsked and stood up straight. “As long as you don’t now.” She waved a hand in Midoriya’s direction. “I have my work cut out with him already.”

No shit. Midoriya’s fight with Bakugou had been on a grand scale that seemed insane for a high school class. There had been a serious grudge match going on. That explosion from Bakugou was still bright in Ed’s mind. He didn’t know how Midoriya hadn’t freaked out then and there, but Ed supposed that out of everyone here, Midoriya was the one most equipped to deal with Bakugou and understanding him. What a fucking nightmare.

He still couldn’t believe that Mustang had jumped in to keep All Might from stopping Bakugou. It was mad. Bakugou had clearly gone off the rail. Was Mustang trying to teach them or get them killed? Still, Midoriya had beat Bakugou at his own game -- at the cost of some pretty bad injuries, of course. His quirk had broken his arm while Bakugou’s had burned his other.

It was really...enlightening, Ed thought, to see the way Midoriya fought. This wasn’t just a class to him or a way for him to fulfill his dream. It reminded Ed of himself when he’d really began pushing the limits of his quirk. In the end, he’d injured himself severely, but it wasn’t like Midoriya, whose quirk literally hurt him. But to see someone so willing to break themselves over and over again in order to be the best…

Well, it made sense to Ed.

“What can we do then?” Recovery Girl asked him.

Ed rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, well, there isn’t anything really that we can do. If you could just, uh…” This was going to be painful. He hated doing this. The last time something like this had happened, she’d almost beat him over the head with his broken prosthetic. “You’ll need to retrieve Winry Rockbell in class 1-F. She designed and installed my prosthetics and any upgrades.”

“That’s quite an advanced ability,” Recovery Girl pointed out. She didn’t seem to doubt him though, as she reached for the phone.

“Yeah, she, er… It’s part of her quirk and her family’s business. Runs in the family. I got lucky.” It was a grave understatement and Recovery Girl knew it, but she didn’t call him out on it, instead making the call.

Ed focused on the leg, preparing himself for the worst, when a groggy voice behind him mumbled, “Ed...ward?” and he turned around to see Midoriya rubbing his tired eyes with the hand that been burned. His other hand and arm was in a cast, his quirk having broken it.

Swinging around so that he could face his friend, Ed put his hands on his thighs and greeted, “Morning, sunshine. Or I guess I should say evening. You’ve been out of it for a while.”

“I…” Midoriya blinked. “What happened?”

“You passed out after All Might announced your team won,” Ed told him. “You’re at the nurse’s office. I bet you feel like a train hit you.”

Midoriya groaned but then sunk further in his bed. “Basically.” He looked over at him, his eyes a little more aware, but he still looked close to falling back asleep. “What are you--?” If not for the severe injuries and a very serious  depletion of energy, Ed was almost positive that Midoriya would’ve bolted out of his bed. “Your leg!”

“This old thing?” Ed pat the metal leg lying next to him on top of the bed. “It’s nothing. Winry will fix it in no time. I’ll be fine.”

“Winry?” Midoriya’s eyes went distant as he tried to remember and then it clicked. “Oh, yeah, your friend from the support course. She was nice.”

His eyelids began to droop again and Ed could tell that he was fighting against his own exhaustion. Ed knew it wouldn’t do any good though. When he’d been recovering from the surgery to remove his arm and leg and then the one to connect his new metal ones, it had felt like all he had done was sleep.

“You’re pretty wild, you know?” Ed told him. “Taking Bakugou head on like that. It was _ crazy. _ ”

“I had to do it,” Midoriya said, although he sounded almost regretful. None of the students had been able to hear what each team was saying while in combat. Besides those four, only All Might and Mustang knew and Ed had a feeling that even then whatever had been said between Midoriya and Bakugou was truly known to them alone. “I had to beat Kacchan.”

“Yeah, well, you did a damn good job of it,” Ed said. “He looked rocked.”

Still, Midoriya didn’t appear happy about it. Might have been because he was beat to hell. Ed could tell when the other boy drifted back to sleep and silence fell over the room. He was considering laying down and getting a bit of rest himself when the door was kicked open.

“Edward!” Winry shouted. “What did you do?”

Surprised by her explosive entrance, Ed wobbled on the bed in panic and almost fell off of it. “I-I can explain!”

“Quiet, you two!” Recovery Girl hissed. “If you’re going to have a lover’s quarrel, do it outside and not where I have a patient in desperate need of rest.”

That sucked the fight right out of them. Both Ed and Winry turned bright red, mumbling apologies and that they were absolutely not having a lover’s quarrel. Winry shut the door, a lot quieter compared to how she’d opened it, and then walked over to Ed’s bed. She was still red in the face and refused to look at him, which suited Ed just fine since he didn’t want to see her reaction to the damage he’d caused.

“What did you do to it?” Winry mourned quietly. “This was some of my best work!”

Ed gave her a weak grin. “Let’s just say that I pretty much kicked a concrete wall repeatedly for like ten minutes.”

Winry goggled at him. “What do they teach you in the hero class?”

Apparently it was how to take a beating right now. Ed had never felt so sore in his life, not even when he’d been spent hours training his quirk and sparring with Al. The last time he’d felt like this had been right after Winry had connected his limbs. He was not looking forward to that again. Still, as Winry inspected the damage and sketched out a plan for a new leg, he was confident in her abilities. He cast a quick glance back at Midoriya. Now he just had to be confident in his own.

*

“Yo, you’re batshit!” Kirishima exclaimed.

A grin cut across Ed’s face. “It was the only thing I could think of.”

Kirishima shook his head. “I about freaked. Like one second you’re kicking the hell out of me and I’m thinking, ‘Man, how is this guy’s leg not broken?’ and the next you freaking pulled it off!” His laugh was loud enough to echo down the hall, causing the few remaining students to give them weird looks, but he either didn’t notice or care. “I swear I almost pissed myself.”

This time, Ed laughed. “Now that would have been hilarious.”

“I wouldn’t have even been embarrassed,” Kirishima said. “You tore your damn leg off.” He snorted, somehow making it a sound of disbelief. “How was I supposed to know it wasn’t real?”

According to Al, everyone watching the screen had freaked out when Ed had resorted to using his own busted up leg as a makeshift weapon. No one but his brother had known that it was a prosthetic, so to everyone in the class, it was a horribly visceral scene. Even All Might had panicked for a second and was then overcome by pride at Ed’s ingenuity and tenacity.

Only Mustang had seemed unimpressed.  _ “He wasted time and made himself useless to his partner.” _

Useless, ha! What did Mustang know? Ed didn’t need two legs in order for his quirk to work. He still would’ve been able to fight and give support. Maybe not as good, but he hadn’t been done for yet. Besides, his team had won their combat simulation, hadn’t they? Mustang just had a stick up his ass and thought he was better than everyone. They hadn’t needed him today. They’d had All Might. What more could they need?

“Does it hurt now?” Kirishima asked.

Ed adjusted himself on his crutches. Winry would need to night to perfect a new leg for him. The more complex the robotic, the more time she needed. She could’ve done it in an hour or so, but he had told her to take her time and do what she wanted. It had been time for him to get an upgrade anyways, according to her, and she had some new ideas on how to improve it. He didn’t know what, seeing as how it functioned perfectly as it was, but if she wanted to tinker with it, so be it.

“Not really,” Ed answered. “It did at the time. I’m kind of surprised I didn’t pass out. I didn’t feel any pain until it busted and and broke off partly. It’s connected to my nerves.”

“So no pain while you were kicking me?” Kirishima asked and Ed shook his head. “No wonder you were going at me like a mad man.”

“It does make me act kind of rash, I guess,” Ed conceded. Winry had pointed it out to him before. He had to remind himself that he couldn’t always fall back on her. One day, she would be doing her own thing and he would be doing his and neither one of them knew if they’d be as close as they were now. Besides, she put a lot of work into his prosthetics. They were insanely complex. He didn’t understand half of it. “I’ve had it for five years so I kind of forget every now and then.”

Kirishima nodded his head. “It’s a good thing you’ve got a cute girlfriend to help you out.”

“What?” Ed yelped, his face turning almost as red as the other boy’s hair. Kirishima stopped and gave him a confused look. “Girlfri-- Winry isn’t my girlfriend! She’s just-- well, she was my neighbor-- we’re just friends!”

“Really?” Kirishima raised an eyebrow. “You two seem awfully close.”

Ed bit down on his tongue and then forced himself to slowly respond, “We’ve known each other since we were little. Our families were really close, so we grew up together.”

“Ah, like Bakugou and Midoriya,” Kirishima surmised.

“Minus the insane grudge match,” Ed put in. “I’m not a complete ass to her for no reason.”

Kirishima smiled. “Yeah, because probably she’d beat you over the head with your own leg.”

He was, by all definitions, right, but Ed wasn’t about to admit that. He knew that a lot of the kids in 1-A seemed almost confused that Ed and Al were friends with someone that wasn’t in the hero course, but he didn’t understand why they weren’t. U.A. wasn’t just made of one class of twenty-two. There were a ton of other students in the school, all of which were rivals or allies in some way, especially the support course. It was like many of them had secluded themselves. Ed wasn’t even sure that Bakugou was aware he had more than five classmates.

It didn’t occur until after he parted ways with Kirishima, who had popped in to check on him at the nurse’s office right when he was being discharged, that Ed realized that the other boy had never asked him why he had a fake leg. He hadn’t even seemed curious and there had been no attempts or hints at prying. It was like it didn’t matter. The only thing that did matter in Kirishima’s eyes was that Ed had done something unexpected and “manly,” which made him cool. It was surprising and felt good.

*

The class was still working on smaller, more precise attacks. Some were getting obviously better while others were struggling. It was clear that some students were quicker on the uptake or simply more talented in combat. He could see some of them slowly improving, but they needed to be better faster. Roy couldn’t help but feel like they were in a race, but he wasn’t for sure what it was or what the end even looked like. There were times when he felt like he was still running. Maybe he always would be.

Roy tsked. “Too big, Bakugou.”

A snap of his fingers and small burst of fire forced Bakugou to jump backwards away from Kirishima. The explosive teen shot him a seething glare, but grit his teeth and went at it again. If it looked like Roy was being particularly hard on him, it was because he was. Bakugou was so used to overpowering people with the magnitude of his quirk that his control would slip if he got angry and he’d start letting off larger explosions that made a few other students around him jump in surprise. With his hardening quirk, Kirishima made a good partner for him.

Still, Roy could tell that Bakugou was getting beyond frustrated. There seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face and he was grinding his teeth so badly that Roy was almost concerned there might be damage. Nitroglycerin-laced sweat dripped from his hands, like it was used to being used up completely and he was making too much. Every time Bakugou made too big of an explosion, Roy would dock points. Whoever had the most points by the end of the session won.

And Bakugou was definitely not winning.

Once again, Midoriya wasn’t using his quirk at all. He’d seemed particularly mournful over this lesson, but was still pushing himself hard in fighting back against Edward. Roy thought back to the punch that had nearly blown that building to kingdom come during the combat training simulation. Could Midoriya not do any less than that? If he could, he either didn’t want to or he was still too wary to use it. Anything close to what he’d showed so far would kill a person. It appeared as if he didn’t want to take any chances. Roy would have to dock points for not using his quirk at all though. Midoriya knew that, but kept fighting.

Ed was doing a particularly good job with this lesson. Now that all the students knew about his prosthetic leg -- and that had been an interesting way to find out -- he was able to show off another part of his quirk. He could transform the metal of his leg into a shield that he lifted up to block a hard kick from Midoriya and then back to normal. It would have been a better technique had it been his arm, which would’ve allowed him to maneuver more, but it was creative and clever. If they were somewhere other than a field, Ed would have free range of any metal around him to use his quirk on.

The next step would be to move them to an urban area where they would have to watch out not only for their opponent but also their surroundings. He’d beat caution and awareness into their heads if it was the last thing he did as a teacher.

Another student doing well was Todoroki, but that was to be expected of Endeavor’s son. Roy would expect nothing less than the number two hero to have trained his son extensively before he even attended U.A. After all, he had done everything he could to ensure that his progeny would be exceptionally strong and that didn’t mean just in quirk strength. Todoroki was years ahead of everyone else not just in strength, but also combat, fighting, and strategy. Clearly Endeavor had spent years cramming as much knowledge as possible into Todoroki’s head.

However, Todoroki was very obviously holding back himself and not just in the sense for the lesson. Roy had noticed it during the last class, but now it felt confirmed: Todoroki was only using half his quirk. He was completely ignoring his left side, as if it didn’t exist. He used his left hand and leg just fine in hand-to-hand combat against Tokoyami, but he was only using the quirk on his right side, his ice. It was the quirk he’d inherited from his mother. His fire he didn’t even consider bringing out, even if it would’ve made things easier.

Was it a conscious decision? Was he trying to strengthen his ice quirk more or did he just not want to use his fire side? Roy thought back to the way Todoroki had coldly eyed the sky when Roy had blown up the baseball in demonstration. There had been a strange look of determination on his face. Todoroki was very impassive for a teenage boy, especially in comparison to Bakugou and Edward, but there had been a hard set to his entire body in that moment.

“Uraraka!” someone shouted in shock.

Roy turned around to see the girl in question blinking wide-eyed up into the sky and followed her gaze. Iida was spinning around in a circle, his quirk unable to bring him back down to earth. Roy’s first instinct was to laugh -- the poor kid looked like a pinwheel -- but he had to push through that, only allowing an amused grin to appear. “Too much, Uraraka.”

“I--” Blush tinging her cheeks, Uraraka anxiously glanced at him and then back up to Iida. “Right, sorry.” She pressed her fingers together. “Release.”

When Iida crashed down into the ground, it was none too gracefully. Still, he stood up and brushed himself off without complaint. He knew that it was his own fault for allowing Uraraka to get a complete touch on him to activate her quirk and send him into the air. If he could learn to use his quirk in tandem with hers, it would be an exceptionally good trick. Maybe combo training would be something to consider later.

“Can you activate your quirk on only part of a person?” Roy asked.

“Um…” Uraraka put a finger under her chin to consider. “I’ve never really tried.” A light went off in her eyes and she held her finger up. “But I can do it only clothes and stuff. I did that during Aizawa’s physical exam to make myself lighter.” As quick as the idea came, the excitement faded from her face. “Which wouldn’t really make much of a difference in a fight.”

Roy shook his head. “Nonsense. Any advantage is still an advantage and even a small one can tip the scales in your favor in a fight.” Both Iida and Uraraka nodded their heads in understanding. Roy felt like such a...teacher. It was a strange realization. Maybe Nezu had been on to something. “Strengthening your quirk will help you expand it in other ways later on.” He held out his hands palm up and created a small flame a few inches from the left before it flew into an arch and settled over his right. “Do you think I had this sort of control right away over my quirk?”

Edward, ever the one to be unimpressed, rolled his eyes. “That’s child’s play.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Roy conceded.

The fire suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own. Though it didn’t grow wider in width, the fire did in length, snaking around the students in a spiral design. All of them froze and gawked at it half in fear and half in amazement. If it they moved towards it though, it wouldn’t hurt them. When Todoroki half reached out for it, Roy moved the line of fire a step away and Todoroki pulled his hand back. After holding it for a few seconds, Roy gently closed his right hand into a fist and the fire faded away.

“Wow!” Midoriya exclaimed. “That was so cool!”

Roy shrugged his shoulders. “It’s all about control. You’ll never be as strong as you like if you don’t have it.”

That sent Midoriya into a tailspin of deep thinking as he turned slightly away from everyone and began muttering to himself, something that apparently happened to him often judging from the way his friends looked at him sideways. Control was something he had to seriously consider and train, seeing as how one use of his quirk broke whatever part of his body that he used. Roy had little idea how to go about that. He’d had problems controlling his quirk and it had gotten even harder after figuring out the fire aspect, but it hadn’t been like Midoriya’s. His quirk had never turned against him.

Realizing that class was basically over, Roy went ahead and dismissed them. It was a good place to stop anyways, giving them all something to think about as they examined their quirks on a different level. There were many ways to strengthen a quirk. Looking at them differently -- like not that they were zero or all -- was one way. It was like working out a specific muscle instead of the whole body. It didn’t look like much progress, but it took time. Unfortunately for them, time was something a hero-in-training didn’t have an unlimited amount of.

As all the students gathered their things and began to leave, Roy noticed that Todoroki was going at a slower pace than normal, his mind elsewhere. Lost in thought, not all that unlike Midoriya, the boy’s movements were languid and his mismatched eyes were unfocused, which was very unusual for him. It was like he was on autopilot, slinging his backpack over his shoulder without even realizing it as his mind wandered. He didn’t even notice that he was the last student to leave.

It was as good an opportunity as any.

“I see your father trained you well,” Roy said mildly.

While neither he nor Riza could be certain exactly what Endeavor had put Todoroki through, Riza had found out through his older sister that Endeavor had been training him for years and that he’d isolated Todoroki from the rest of his family. When Riza had asked about the scar covering nearly half of Todoroki’s face, Fuyumi had not wanted to talk about it. Both Riza and Roy knew what burn scars looked like. All Fuyumi would tell them was that it had not been by Endeavor’s hand.

What had gone on in Todoroki’s childhood? Riza had been more disheartened after meeting her cousin in person than anything else.

Just as Roy expected, Todoroki halted at Roy’s words and snapped out of whatever fog he’d fallen in. His eyes snapped up to Roy’s and he pressed his lips into a thin line. It didn’t appear as if he was going to respond vocally, but he didn’t have to. Those eyes spoke volumes about his internal anger. It didn’t burn hot like wildfire like Bakugou’s or shine like hard metal like Edward’s. It was as cold as his ice quirk, as if he was smothering all the fire burning inside of him.

Knowing that Todoroki had no intention of responding, Roy continued, “But I couldn’t help but notice that you’re only using half of your quirk.”

“I don’t need my father to become a hero,” Todoroki responded in a flat tone. It felt as if he’d thrown up a wall with those words, blocking anyone from going any further. Too bad he was dealing with Roy instead.

“No, probably not,” Roy surmised, “but you won’t be the greatest one either.”

Todoroki’s eyes hardened like ice. “You don’t know that. You don’t know half of my strength. You’re forcing us to hold back.”

“I didn’t become one of the top heroes by going all out,” Roy pointed out. Before Todoroki could interrupt about how he was contradicting himself, Roy continued, “But I didn’t  _ half-ass _ anything either.”

A mixture of emotions flittered across Todoroki’s face before he could squash them down: anger, confusion, and then disappointment. It was like he had known that this conversation was going to happen, but he was let down that it was actually going on. Of course he misinterpreted what Roy was leading into. Roy would bet his entire salary that Todoroki thought that Roy was going to try to force him or at least convince him to use his fire ability. He wasn’t, at least not in the way the kid suspected.

“I won’t use it in combat,” Todoroki swore. “I won’t be his puppet.”

“And I wouldn’t want you to be,” Roy replied. “All I’m saying is that by ignoring it completely, you’re only going to make yourself weaker.” He began to pull his gloves off one finger at a time. “I’m not telling you that you need to start lighting things on fire and blowing stuff up like Bakugou.” Todoroki rolled his eyes at the comparison. “I’m not telling you that you should even like a quirk that was essentially forced onto you.” Roy flexed his bare fingers like he was seeing them for the first time and then pocketed his gloves. “But if you don’t accept it, then you’ll never become strong enough to truly beat your asshole of a father.”

Todoroki blinked, the only sign of him being taken aback by Roy’s sudden harsh words that didn’t match the cool expression on his face. He gripped the straps of his backpack tightly and looked away. “What do you know of him anyways?” His voice was a little more heated this time. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know what it’s like to be pushed into becoming something I’m not for the sake of someone else’s dream,” Roy told him.

In more ways than one. Riza’s father had seen his quirk as something special and had convinced his foster mother that training Roy would be beneficial to him. A young Roy, so eager to become a hero, had jumped at the opportunity. Roy was who he was today because of that man, but it had taken years for him to realize that he had been used, even if it had also given him more power than he could imagine. That would have been Riza had she inherited her mother’s fire quirk. His life might not have been nearly as brutal as Todoroki’s, but he understood what it meant to be a tool for someone else’s goals.

Whether he liked it or not, ragged pieces of the Incident came to mind. A soothing voice in his ear, a kind hand on his shoulders, a gentle prodding forward into a dark abyss.  _ “You know what you have to do.” _ The nightmares had gone away for the most part -- sometimes he couldn’t even remember what they had been about -- but the feel of those things had never gone away. The feel of being twisted and used never faded completely.

Endeavor might have been a total bastard and a terrible father for using his own son to complete his goals, but he wasn’t a villain.

“Do with it what you will,” Roy told him as he turned and headed back to the school building. “The choice will always be yours.”


	10. Teamwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of the USJ Incident: Ed and Al deal with the League of Villains separately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be one chapter, but it was so massive that I decided to split it in half. It kind of worked out.

Ed was so freaking stoked. Not only was his leg fixed again, but Winry had somehow managed to make it better than before. It was a little lighter and it had some more flexibility to it, so that when he used his quirk on it, he could do more things. He wasn’t sure how she did it, but he didn’t care. The first time he had used his quirk on one of his prosthetics, Winry had freaked out thinking that he’d broken it, but then he’d turned it right back to normal. As much as he missed having all flesh and blood limbs, the prosthetics did come in handy.

To make today even better, Aizawa had announced that they were doing rescue training and they would get to wear their costumes again. Ed’s was fairly simple, all things considered: black pants, shirt, and boots combo with a bright red long jacket that had a hood that shadowed the mask over his eyes. He also wore a pair of gloves as usual, though his costume ones were black. The main thing were the metal rods strapped around his shins and forearms, which he could turn into weapons.

The combat training had gotten Ed pumped, but this would be even more interactive. He could tell that Al was excited too as he bounced around in his seat and chatted with Uraraka while the bus took them to USJ for the simulation. It appeared as if both of them were already thinking about focusing on rescue missions as heroes, so they were especially thrilled, if not a little nervous. After all, Aizawa could be tough as hell. Who knew what the man was going to throw at them?

“You ready to kick some ass?” Kirishima asked Ed after everyone was done laughing at Bakugou for exploding over no one being afraid of him.

Ed grinned and slammed his right fist into his left palm. “Damn straight.”

“Isn’t the purpose of this exercise to rescue civilians…?” Midoriya put in thoughtfully.

“Well, you aren’t going to do that unless you fight some villains,” Kirishima said.

“Unless it’s a natural disaster!” Uraraka added.

It was a good point, one that had Kirishima conceding and nodding in agreement. He was clearly hoping that there would be some sort of fighting involved, considering his hardening quirk, but Ed thought that he’d do pretty good in an earthquake or fire scenario. His skin was able to withstand many of Bakugou’s explosions during training. All of them would have their specialties when it came to rescue missions.

Ed wasn’t sure where he’d be best at. Probably not a water scenario, not with his metal arm and leg. Fire could be an issue too, if only because of his skin that touched the metal. An urban setting would be best or anything that had metal and wasn’t sinking into deep water. More than likely, Aizawa was not going to make it easy for them and would throw them in every scenario possible.

As soon as they were at USJ, everyone rushed off the bus in their excitement. Meeting Thirteen was a dream for Al, seeing as how the pro hero was known for their rescue missions. Ed watched as his brother gazed at Thirteen with the kind of hero-worshipping face that most people gave All Might. Everyone had their own personal heroes and not just the number one hero. Of course All Might was Ed’s favorite -- he was number one and he kicked some serious ass all while wearing a smile -- but Ed never argued with Al over it.

A quirk that could kill as easily as it could save, huh. It kind of reminded Ed of Mustang. That fire quirk of his sure was dangerous. At least he wouldn’t be here observing or working with them today, thank everything. Ed had had enough of him from their last hero class. From what Ed had seen, while Mustang got along with All Might and even Midnight (who was terrifying), he tended to stay away from Aizawa and Present Mic. That certainly left a good impression of the latter two as far as Ed was concerned.

However, before they could start the actual rescue class, a warp gate appeared and everyone gawked in confusion. Ed glanced over at Al and then at Deku. Was this part of the scenario? It definitely threw all of the students off guard. None of them seemed to know what to do, especially when multiple people began to walk through the warp gate and into the building. Who were they? Maybe they were here to act as villains during this training?

The sight of Aizawa putting his goggles on and officially becoming the pro hero Eraserhead sent a chill down Ed’s spine. If this was part of the training, he wouldn’t get involved, which meant…

Ed stared down in horror as more and more people walked through the warp gate. Those weren’t just people. They were villains.

“Thirteen, get the students out of here!” Aizawa ordered.

No way. There was no way Aizawa was going to jump into that fray and fight those villains. He couldn’t possibly do it on his own. There was one of him and so many others. His quirk could work on multiple villains at once, but that would require him to keep his eyes open the entire time. Besides, long-winded attacks wasn’t Eraserhead’s style. He and Midoriya had compared notes on their teachers’ pro hero fighting styles last week, so he knew that the scales were nowhere near tipped in Aizawa’s favor.

Still, he was a pro for a reason and they were students. They had to have a little faith. It was hard to do that when they knew help wasn’t coming any time soon.

Clenching his hands into fists, Ed turned on his heels with the other students and began to book it for the door, only to be forced to come to a halt when the villain with the warp gate quirk appeared in front of them. He looked like he was just made of black and purple fog, a pure nothingness to him. It was unsettling.

“Where is All Might?” the fog villain demanded. “The schedule said that he would be here.” Ed glanced around, catching his fellow students’ confused and frightened looks, along with a few angry ones. Judging from the way he wasn’t attacking them right away, they weren’t the real reason the villains were here. “We came to destroy the Symbol of Peace, but if he’s not here, we’ll have to settle for his hope for the future.”

Pure terror struck Ed. He hadn’t felt something like that since finding his mom lying unconscious in the hallway when he was six and he still didn’t know how to react to it now. A part of his brain knew that he should be more focused on the fact that this asshole had just told them that the villains were going to kill them, but he was too caught up in the idea that they thought they could kill All Might.

Of fucking course, Bakugou had to ruin things, jumping in head first with Kirishima at his side to attack the warp gate villain. The resulting explosion blew smoke everywhere and Ed threw himself in front of Jirou to keep her from getting knocked over. It had been a good hit at least, Ed would give Bakugou though -- until the smoke cleared and the villain was right in front of them.

“For now, our job is to torture you to death!” the villain exclaimed before his black fog washed over them like a massive tornado.

Ed threw his hands over his face, trying to block the fog and shouted, “Alphonse!” but his brother didn’t answer. Where was his brother? He tried to move forward, but couldn’t push through the strength of the fog, which seemed to be holding onto him. And then, despite his weight, Ed was sucked off the ground by the warp, as if the black fog had wrapped itself around his limbs and pulled him up and then into the fog itself. The feeling of weightlessness reminded him of Uraraka’s quirk for a brief moment as he flailed in the air but could do nothing to physically fight the villain’s quirk.

All he could do was shout angrily as he and Ojiro were forced through the gate and then found themselves being spit out into one of the rescue areas, far from the doors of the USJ building where they had been seconds ago. Ed landed painfully on a slab of broken concrete, face first and his real arm, while Ojiro managed to land on his tail and then his feet.

“What the hell?” Ed growled as he pulled himself to his feet. He didn’t need to look around to know where they were; he could feel it. The fire zone. Buildings around them were devastated from explosions and fire that made him think of Mustang. He could already feel sweat building on his face. There was too much material on his costume for this area. He had to make sure he stayed away from the fire, lest his metal limbs heat up too much. He scanned the area, but only saw Ojiro. “Where are the others?”

“They must have been warped to other areas,” Ojiro said.

So they’d all been scattered throughout USJ. That made sense. It would make them less of a threat, easier to take out. Ed’s heart raced in his chest, though he kept a scowl on his face. He wasn’t afraid, but he couldn’t help but worry about his brother and his friends. Al was a better fighter and he could withstand a lot of damage before it actually hurt him, but then there were some students that were still learning to use their quirk in combat, not to mention Midoriya who broke a bone every time he used his quirk.

Ojiro suddenly lowered himself into a crouch and whispered, “We’re not alone.”

Ed went into a crouch and swung his gaze around. He couldn’t see anyone yet, but he could hear them over the crackling of the fire surrounding them. They’d been thrown into an arena with an unknown amount of villains, who he had no doubt were much more suited to this place than him. Had they known that fire might be an issue for him? It didn’t seem like it’d be that much of an issue for Ojiro. Besides, if they’d been warped to places that least suited their quirks, Ed would’ve probably either gone to the avalanche or shipwreck area. They wouldn’t know about his metal arm and leg.

“What are you thinking?” Ed asked as they hid behind some rubble. From this vantage point, they could watch as a handful of villains crept into view, clearly searching for them.

“I’d rather not take them all on at once,” Ojiro said. “I don’t doubt your skill in combat, but it would be easier to take them out one by one if we can.”

Ed knew that Ojiro wasn’t trying to demean him, only be realistic. He was certain that he could take on these assholes, seeing as how he’d been gearing for a fight. Plus, he wanted to take out the people who thought that they could get to All Might. Well, they were going to have to get through him first. Still, he didn’t want to be like Bakugou or even Kirishima who had jumped to attack head on without any knowledge. He had to be more clever than that.

“How do you feel about sneak attacks?” Ed asked, a grin appearing on his face despite the severity of the situation.

“Sounds good to me.” Ojiro chuckled a little nervously. “You know, you look a little demented with that grin.”

“That’s the point,” Ed replied, turning to look back at the upcoming villains. “They’re gonna regret thinking that they could take us out of the equation.”

*

The second the villain’s fog exploded over them, Al transformed into his armor form, making himself much stronger, larger, and heavier. He thought he heard Ed shout his name, but couldn’t be for certain as the fog seemed to muffle all the senses. It was almost impossible to see through it, but there was Ashido next to him, hunkered down low as if she hoped that the fog worked like smoke and rose.

His fellow classmates started screaming around him. Al was terrified that they were being hurt when he slowly began to feel his feet inch off the ground. He glanced up and saw what looked like Kaminari floating out of control like Iida had been when Uraraka had touched him with her zero gravity quirk. It clicked in Al’s head. The villain’s quirk was a warp gate. The fog was pulling them into the air and sucking them through various gates.

Next to him, Ashido shrieked as she was pulled up next and Al reacted quickly, forcing one of his heavy hands through the fog and snatching her by the wrist. She held onto him clumsily, her fingers slipping on the metal of his armored form, but then was able to take hold of his other outstretched hand. Slowly, he trudged their way through the fog as it pulled on them both, Ashido’s feet never touching the ground, until finally they burst out of it and collapsed into a heap on top of each other.

“Are you alright?” Ashido asked as she scrambled off of him.

Al transformed back into his regular self and sat up to look at the black and purple cloud that they’d managed to get out of. “I’m fine.” While she was breathing heavily, he wasn’t winded in the slightest, but his heart was racing as if he’d run a mile. “I’m going back in!”

He jumped to his feet and transformed back into his armor form, but then Uraraka got in front of him and said, “You can’t!”

“My brother is still in there!” Al exclaimed.

The fog vanished, pulled back into the villain, and they were met with a terrible sight. Besides a handful of them, everyone else in their class was gone and Iida shouted. Panic shot through Al’s heart even if he was in his armored form. Where had they gone? What had happened to his brother? Al had managed to save Ashido at least, but it felt so little considering the size of their class. Even worse, they were still left with the villain floating before them, blocking them from their escape. At least Thirteen was still with them.

Uraraka bit her lip, her eyes wide. “What are we going to do?”

“We need to alert the other teachers,” Thirteen said. “No one knows what’s happening here.”

Al’s eyes roved over the expansive area of USJ. Aizawa was fighting an insane amount of villains on his own, their classmates were who knows where, and a powerful villain was standing in between them and their escape after just proclaiming that they would all be killed as a message to All Might. Al didn’t think any of them besides the villains knew exactly what was happening here, but he’d be damned if he let that stop him.

He was going to be a hero. He was going to save people. He just hadn’t realized that one of the first people he would have to save was himself.

*

Normally, the idea of running away sounded like the worst thing on the planet. Ed couldn’t stand it. Running away made him feel weak, pathetic, not good enough. It made his skin crawl and it pissed him the hell off. If someone had told him to run away, he probably would’ve flipped out not unlike Bakugou and the fact that even he thought that he might react like that explosive bastard was enough to grind his gears even more. Ed didn’t do running away. He didn’t do fleeing.

But this? Oh, this he could do. This was kind of fun in an awful sort of way.

Staying just out of sight meant that the villains were forced to split up in order to find Ed and Ojiro. It was hotter than hell and Ed was sweating bullets and the villains with them in here were clearly suited for this area, but they were getting frustrated. Grown ass adults and they were clearly getting frustrated that the kids they were supposed to torture and kill couldn’t be found.

The next step was to let the villains find them.

Ed ran out into the open, like he was trying to keep running away, but froze when a villain shouted and pointed at him. He brought his hands to his face and dramatically gasped, “Oh no!” before turning on his heels and running away, two villains in hot pursuit. Ed rounded a corner of a broken building, but when the first villain tried to do the same, he was knocked out cold by Ojiro’s tail. The second one came to a halt when he saw his companion on the ground and surprise crept onto his face. Ed turned around to face him wearing a vicious grin and used a long metal bar to whack him in the head.

“Nicely done,” Ojiro told him.

After spinning the metal bar in his hands, Ed let it thud into his palms and he nudged the unconscious villains with his boot. “Idiots. They’re completely underestimating us.” He snorted, but the grin was still on his face.

Ojiro eyed him. “You’re enjoying this?”

“Well, I don’t like the idea that they believe they’re here to exterminate us like mice,” Ed replied as he peered around the corner. There was another villain looking around trying to figure out where the two others had gone. “And we need to get out of here. We have no clue what’s going on out there.”

The longer they were stuck in here, the more terrible things could happen out there. Although he’d never worked with Ojiro before, the two of them made a pretty good team. They’d switch up being the one chased and the one doing the sneak attacks, sometimes doing a hit and run style attack at the same time. Ojiro didn’t seem to mind Ed’s theatrics, but if he could tell that Ed was getting more ruthless with the more villains they defeated, he didn’t say anything except for that one thing.

It was just that Ed couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on outside of this sphere. Where was Al? Had he been warped into another area and forced to fight a handful of villains? Or had he been able to escape the fog? Who was he with or was he alone? All he could hope was that Al hadn’t been transported to the shipwreck area. His quirk wouldn’t help him at all there. What about Midoriya? What about Uraraka, Iida, or Kirishima? And how was Aizawa faring? Was he still fighting? Was he still alive?

There was too much going on in his head. He had to get out of here.

Right as Ed was turning around to check on the villain, he came face-to-face with an outstretched hand reaching to grab him by the face. Ed stumbled backwards, barely missing getting grabbed, and would’ve crashed into Ojiro had the other boy not leapt out of the way at the last second. Damnit! He’d let himself get distracted by his worries and the villain had caught him off guard.

He was able to dodge another fist by doing an agile one hand-handed backflip in an attempt to get more space between him and the villain, but it allowed the guy to follow up with a large, fiery rock that Ed couldn’t dodge. Ed reacted instantly, raising his right arm in front of his face to protect himself like a shield. The rock exploded when it made contact with his arm, gravel and embers striking him, but it did little damage compared to what it could have been had he used his left arm.

The villain reared back in surprise. “What the hell?”

“Damnit,” Ed grumbled, throwing his right arm back and giving it a good shake. “You better not have scratched it.”

“Your arm!” the villain gasped. “It should be shattered!” He narrowed his eyes. “Unless you have a hardening quirk.”

Ed shook his head. “Wrong student.”

He took advantage of the villain’s surprise though, leaping forward to wrap his hand around the villain’s throat and slam him up against the wall despite there being a height different. Ed wasn’t short, but this guy was a grown adult. The villain’s eyes traveled down Ed’s arm. The sleeve of his jacket was torn and burnt in places where the rock and fire had struck him, but what really stood out was the metal that peeked through where there should’ve been skin. Ed smirked before he punched the villain in the face with his real hand and threw him to the side.

Once that was taken care of, Ojiro dropped down next to him. “Edward…” He was looking at Ed’s arm, though not with as much surprise as the villain had. He knew that Edward’s left leg was a metal prosthetic as well, having seen him rip it off and whack Kirishima in the head with it during their combat mission simulation.

Ed glanced at the other boy out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t tell what Ojiro was thinking, but it better not have been pity. “No one besides my brother knows.” He pulled off his glove and flexed his metal fingers, checking to make sure that there was no damage from the rock. There appeared to be none. His jacket had taken the brunt of the damage and kept it from getting so much as a nick. “I guess I thought people might feel sorry for me.”

“You’re not getting any pity from me,” Ojiro reassured him, “not with the way you took that villain down.”

That was a relief, though Ed only nodded his head to thank him. It was all Ojiro seemed to need. “If you could not tell anyone…” He rubbed his metal arm. The jacket wasn’t so destroyed that his prosthetic was completely noticeable unless someone went out of their way to look at it and was close by, but he hated how out in the open it felt, like he was exposed.

“Not a word,” Ojiro promised. Sometimes, Ed forgot how good people could be. After being attacked by a bunch of villains, it was nice to be reminded.

“C’mon, let’s see if we can get out of here.”

There had to be a way out. They’d taken down at least eleven villains in total so far. Hopefully that had been the last of them, but they would have to be careful just in case. As much as Ed wanted to bolt straight for the exit, he knew that it wasn’t a good idea either. It peeved him to have to be this careful when all he wanted to do was break down a wall and pummel anyone that got in his way. He couldn’t be reckless like that though, not with someone else depending on him.

Mustang had been right, as much as Ed hated to admit it. He couldn’t go off the handle and put himself out of commission and leave himself worthless, like he’d done during the combat training. Ojiro was counting on him to back him up and then there were the others out there, hopefully still fighting. He had to be smart about this.

What would they do once they got out? Should they try to reach the doors and stay out of the center where Aizawa was fighting? Should they try to help? Ed was ridiculously confident about his quirk and knew that he was a better fighter than most adults, as clearly proven, but it was still hard to fathom that a pro hero might need a student’s help. What could he do that Aizawa couldn’t? Would he just get in the way?

He didn’t know. All those questions raced in his mind as they ran for the door. First things first, they had to get out of here. Then they could analyze the situation and figure out what to do next.

However, once they burst out of the fire arena, both boys froze in shock. Ed hadn’t anticipated that it would be so much worse than what he could’ve imagined.


	11. Timeliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the USJ Incident: Roy enters the fold and Ed witnesses the end of Nomu.

Roy was nursing a headache as he made his way to the teacher’s lounge. Last night he’d gotten into a fight with his worst enemy, whiskey, and it had beat him. He didn’t drink very often anymore, seeing as how he hated the way it dulled his senses, but he’d been so angry and frustrated over his lack of headway in the murder case he’d been looking into for months that he’d pulled the bottle out of the cabinet. He’d had more than a few shots and now he was sorely regretting it.

All this time and he’d forgotten one of the number one rules of life: never drink on a school night.

It didn’t help that Yamada seemed to be in a mood, positively gleeful that Roy wasn’t feeling up to chuff. He was acting louder than normal and excitable for no reason, in Roy’s opinion, which made the drumline in Roy’s head all the worse. Aizawa wasn’t around to temper Yamada, off with Thirteen and Class 1-A at USJ. Roy would’ve liked to have gone, seeing as how it had been built after he’d graduated, but they’d already had three teachers involved, so he hadn’t asked.

Besides, when it came to rescues, Thirteen was one of the best, having come up with the ingenious idea of USJ. Just as he had during his entrance exam, Roy had struggled with rescue scenarios at first. He was so used to destroying and fighting that it had been difficult for him to use his quirk in any other way. It was through rescue missions that Roy had learned the variability of his quirk and how to use it differently. Maybe it would do the same for Bakugou or maybe he’d try to blast his way through it like he did everything else.

Thank gods Roy wasn’t teaching a class today. Bakugou’s explosions would have rattled his head. The kid probably would’ve gotten a week’s worth of detention if he’d started yelling like a rage-filled bomb.

Just as Roy was about to pass Principal Nezu’s office, the door opened and All Might stepped out. It was still hard to remember that this skeletal, gaunt man was the number one hero, but Roy didn’t blink in surprise anymore. However, what did cause him to blink was the fact that All Might wasn’t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be at USJ.

“Mustang.” Even with just one word, All Might sounded frazzled. There was a look of frustration on his face that made his eyes seem even more sunken in.

“Is everything okay?” Roy asked.

All Might frowned. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of Aizawa or Thirteen to see how the class is going, but haven’t been able to reach them. Perhaps they’re just busy.”

That...didn’t sound right and All Might seemed to know it. Even if they were busy, Aizawa would’ve answered All Might’s call. Roy pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed Aizawa’s number, but got nothing as well. The call didn’t even go to voicemail. It just kept ringing, like the call couldn’t connect. Roy pulled his cell away and looked down at it with a furrowed brow.

“That’s odd,” he murmured.

“I shouldn’t have strained myself so much this morning,” All Might sighed, rubbing his face with one of his large, bony hands. “I couldn’t go with the class like this.”

“It’s hard to ignore cries for help,” Roy said, to which All Might nodded his head in agreement. Balancing work as both a hero and a teacher had proven even more difficult than Roy had anticipated. Not that he didn’t trust Riza or anyone employed under him to get the job done, but it was hard to pull himself out of the field. Even though he knew that what he was doing now was good and necessary, he still felt guilty about not being able to do more.

Which was why he was concerned that this disconnect from Aizawa was a cry for help in a way.

It was obvious that All Might was thinking the along the same lines. “I should go to USJ, just in case.”

“I’ll go with you,” Roy said without thinking, pushing away the thoughts of his headache. It would be there, but the sudden change in mood was a good distraction from it. A bad feeling had sunk its claws into his mind, stronger than the hangover, and he wasn’t about to let it go. All Might didn’t argue or turn down Roy’s office and he turned around to go back where he came from. The thought of coffee had completely left his mind.

As they made their way to USJ, too rushed to be considered casual, Roy attempted to reach Aizawa a few more times, all to no success. Each call that failed made Roy’s stomach twist a little further. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut. Every bit of instinct in him was screaming at him to hurry, but short of running, they were going as fast as All Might’s body would allow him. If something bad was happening, he needed to have as much time in his hero form as possible.

We should have taken a car or something, Roy thought in frustration. It had slipped his mind. He was never going to drink again. It made him stupid.

Something in the distance caught his eye -- a cloud of smoke, a blur -- and then it clicked in Roy’s mind. “It’s Iida.”

All Might quickly transformed back into his hero state before Iida spotted them. Almost as soon as All Might did, Iida noticed them and changed his course to run directly towards them, the engines in his legs exploding him forward with an almost manic speed. “All Might! Flame Alchemist!” the boy half shouted, half gasped, both fear and relief mixing in his voice.

Roy’s heart dropped the same time his blood began to boil. Something was  _ very  _ wrong.

“Young Iida, what’s going on?” All Might demanded.

“Villains at the USJ!” Iida exclaimed, slightly out of breath but not near done yet. A hard expression fell over All Might’s face, a dark shadow that was so unlike that bright smile that he showed when he saved the day. It was enough to make a warm day feel chilly, but it only made Roy ready for a fight. “They came out of nowhere and cut off communication! Aizawa jumped in to hold them off on his own, but one of the villains has some sort of warp gate quirk and separated all the students. Thirteen ordered me to escape so I could alert UA, but they...”

By the time Iida was done explaining the situation as best as he could, Roy had gone entirely cold. He always did when he was this angry, as if everything else bleed out of him. Riza liked to say that he ran hot, but the truth was it was a good thing when he was like that. When he wasn’t, when he felt like ice, he was much more dangerous.

All Might turned to Roy and he understood. They had to get there as soon as possible. “Go ahead of me,” Roy told him. “I’ll catch up.” The fact was that All Might would be able to get there a lot faster than Roy, who didn’t have any super speed or flight to speak of. Now he really wished he had that car. All Might nodded his head and then jumped from the ground with enough power to nearly blow Iida and Roy off their feet. “Iida, get to UA and alert the principal. He’ll be able to bring the teachers.”

A conflicted expression crossed Iida’s face. “Sir--”

“Your job isn’t done yet,” Mustang told him as he tugged on his white gloves. “Let us do ours.”

Iida swallowed, but then said, “Yes, sir!” and took off for the school at an incredible speed.

Gods, what Roy would do for speed like that right now. All he could do was take off running. He was in shape and did plenty of cardio to keep up his stamina, but he couldn’t run at a sprint the entire time or he’d be too worn down by the time he made it to USJ. Luckily, once there, his quirk wouldn’t require much moving around as long as he kept at a distance. Maybe he should start wearing at least part of his hero costume because running in dress shoes, slacks, and a button up shirt was not doing it for him right now.

His mind was racing at the implications too much to think about how much his lungs were burning and his legs beginning to ache. Villains attacking the students. USJ was on the outskirts of the UA campus, but it was still a part of it. Roy was too furious to be in shock, but it still struck a very painful chord. No villain had ever managed to get into UA before, at least not personally. He didn’t want to think about it -- he need to focus on getting to the students and protecting them -- but his mind drifted back to his school days.

Makoto hadn’t needed to step foot into UA to cause trouble, not when he’d gotten his claws into troubled boy’s head and twisted everything around. That boy hadn’t been a villain, but he’d come pretty damn close to becoming one. An angry wolf, torn from his family, pretending to be a loyal, good dog like everyone else here.

That was how villains had tried to infiltrate UA before -- through a student. Now they were here in person. At least they were doing their own dirty work instead of trying to corrupt someone on the inside.

It enraged Roy on a level he hadn’t thought himself capable of.

He kept thinking of Aizawa fighting on his own and he grit his teeth harder as he breathed through his nose. They didn’t even know how many villains were there. Aizawa was brilliant at hand-to-hand combat and he could wield those scarves as well as his quirk, but his style wasn’t meant for long drawn out fights on his own. His quirk could stop a fight before it even began. Roy could only hope that Aizawa was still putting up one hell of a fight because he knew damn well that Aizawa would go down for any of those kids.

_ You better still be alive, you asshole,  _ Roy thought furiously as USJ came into view.

Just a little bit longer. He had to push himself. A little more. All Might had to be there already. Everything would be fine. The kids would be safe. His colleagues would be alive. The villains would be defeated. He knew that some of the kids would probably throw themselves into the thick of it, especially if they’d been separated throughout the facility so that it would be easier to take them out. He had no doubt that students like Bakugou and Todoroki would thrive in this fight, but that was the problem. They were too confident.

And villains would also use that confidence to their advantage.

*

Seeing Aizawa beaten and broken like that had frozen Ed entirely. All that running, all those racing thoughts, all those determined feelings to kick ass and fight back -- all of it amounted to absolutely nothing when he saw that massive bird beast slam Aizawa’s face repeatedly into the concrete. His mind came to a screeching halt along with his feet as he stared at the scene in wide-eyed horror.

This was what they were training to do. This was who they were training to fight. But watching a pro hero get completely demolished made Ed feel incredibly small. He and Ojiro had just taken out eleven villains on their own, but this right here made him look like a  _ child _ . He could feel all fifteen of his years and knew that they came up to jack shit compared to the three villains in the center plaza. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach when he saw three of his friends in the mix and one of the villains reaching out for Tsuyu.

It all happened so fast. Ed wanted to take a step forward. He wanted to run in their direction. He wanted to save them or help them or anything. But he couldn’t move. It was like his feet were stuck to the ground. He could only watch as Midoriya jumped to save Tsuyu, but then there was a gust of wind so strong that Ed could feel it from where he was standing, brushing him back and snapping him out of it.

“Yes!” Ed cheered when Midoriya’s punch connected, only for his face to drop when the smoke cleared and it turned out that Midoriya had hit the bird monster instead. Still, it should’ve done something -- Midoriya was crazy strong -- but it appeared as if his punch hadn’t done a single thing. Ed knew in an instant what was going to happen. The hands villain was going to snatch Mineta and the bird monster was going to destroy Midoriya. Ed’s feet started moving before his brain and he broke into a sprint. “Midoriya!”

There was no way he’d make it in time. He was too late it was too late they were too late--

And then the doors to USJ were busted open and All Might appeared, the light shining behind him and making him look like a god. Except there was no smile on his face to let everyone know that everything was going to be alright. He wasn’t smiling one bit as he proclaimed, “It’s fine now!” Ed skidded to a halt, transfixed by All Might’s appearance, even more blown away when All Might managed to save not only Aizawa, but his students as well. He hadn’t even seen All Might move; the hero had been too fast for the eyes to catch.

“Ed, we need to keep out of the center plaza and make it to the doors,” Ojiro said, having come up from behind.

He was right, of course, but it settled wrong in Ed’s gut. It felt like running away, but not in the way that they’d done in the fire zone. Still, he wasn’t about to charging into a fight that he knew he had no business in. They stuck to the edges of the plaza where the fight between All Might and the villains, keeping a close eye on it, but Ed’s eyes kept sliding over to where Midoriya was. He along with Tsu and Mineta were carrying an unconscious but somehow still alive Aizawa towards the entrance. Ed could see the troubled look on Midoriya’s face though and the way he kept looking back at the fight.

_ Don’t do it, you idiot,  _ Ed thought, as if he could telepathically send the thought across the room to the other boy.

Just when they thought All Might had taken down the bird monster, the smoke cleared and they were met with a nasty shock. The bird monster was split in two by a warp gate, its ugly brain head sticking out of the ground on one end and the rest of him hanging out of the other where it dug its unnatural claws into All Might’s side. It stopped Ed cold. Blood began to blossom on All Might’s shirt and there seemed to be nothing he could do to stop from being ripped in half.

This was of course right when Midoriya decided to run right into the fray screaming All Might’s name.

“That idiot!” Ed shouted, taking off blindly to the middle of the center plaza, ignoring the fact that he was doing the same damn thing that Midoriya was doing.

Ojiro reached out to snatch him, but he only got air. “Ed, no!”

Once again, Ed knew that he wouldn’t make it in time. Midoriya was going to get sucked through the warp gate and who knew where he would end up. If he could just be faster, if he had some sort of speed booster, if he had a jetpack or anything, he could save his friend.

Ed was close enough that Bakugou’s sudden explosion knocked him backwards onto his ass and he yelled, “What the hell!” as Bakugou shouted, “You’re in my way, Deku!” All three boys had nearly collided into each other and the warp gate villain, who Bakugou now had pinned down. Ice flooded the ground like water and Ed watched in amazement as it overtook half of the bird monster; when he followed the ice back, he saw Todoroki standing there, looking unperturbed by the whole thing.

“What are you doing here?” Midoriya asked as he helped Ed to his feet.

“I saw your dumb ass running to into the fight,” Ed replied, like that made perfect sense. He did not comment on how he had done the same thing. Midoriya gave him a strange look that suggested he knew Ed had made a similar stupid decision. But they were all safe and even captured one of the villains. Ed glanced at Bakugou, who was was threatening the villain underneath his explosive hand with a kind of rage-filled glee that didn’t sound very hero-like.

Any sort of victory they might have felt was short-lived when the bird monster (Nomu, the hands villain had called him) began to pull itself out of the warp gate and crawl, despite pieces of its body shattering from the ice. Even Todoroki looked shocked that the thing was still moving, as if nothing had ever beaten his quirk before. It was horrifying to look at, a monster straight out of the movies, to the point where none of them could move. All they could do was get in a fighting stance and prepare to battle.

The hands guy had a different idea. “First, we need to get our gate back.”

Ed only managed to jerk his eyes in Bakugou’s direction before an overwhelmingly powerful wind appeared seemingly out of nowhere and blew everyone back. He tried to dig his metal foot down hard, but he was taken off his feet in a matter of seconds. When the smoke blew away, they saw Nomu with the warp gate guy at his side.

Midoriya jumped to his feet. “Kacchan!” A slight grunt to their right had the other four boys nearly leaping out of their skins, but there was Bakugou, looking as confused as they felt. “K-Kacchan? You dodged it?”

There was no way Bakugou could have dodged a hit like that. None of them could. Bakugou’s irritated response confirmed it, but there was more shock on his face than anger like normal.

Kirishima looked at all of them. “Then how…?”

“All Might,” Ed said under his breath, turning in the direction where there teacher was now standing. He must have been able to beat Nomu to Bakugou and knock him out of the way, taking the hit for Bakugou in the process.

This was too much. Ed didn’t know how any of them were supposed to keep up. Villains had attacked the USJ, they’d been separated from one another, been forced to fight for their lives, and now they were stuck in the middle of a battle between two beings infinitely stronger than everyone else. This was definitely not what they had signed up for upon applying to UA. Ed had thought that it would at least be until his internship that he would have to deal with villains.

Right when they’d thought that they would be forced to fight once more though, the fight between All Might and Nomu practically exploded. Ed watched in complete awe as the two pummeled each other so fast that they became little more than blurs. The aftershocks of each punch were strong enough to blow all of them back again. Ed pulled one of the metal rods from his pants and forced it into the ground, expanding it below so that it was more capable of holding him into place. Without it, he might’ve flown off his feet again.

“This is insane!” Kirishima shouted over the noise.

“No shit!” Ed yelled back, gripping onto the metal rod even as wind and dirt threatened to knock him back.

He had known that All Might was the strongest hero in the world. He was the number one hero for a reason. Ed had admired him ever since his debut. Even when everyone gave up, he didn’t. He only pushed himself further. That was a hero. If there had ever been any doubt in Ed’s mind about what he was doing at UA, it died here in this moment as he watched All Might obliterate Nomu. Nothing Ed had seen on the TV or computer compared this. It was so overwhelming that they could only gawk as All Might blasted the bird monster right through the ceiling.

This was what it meant to be a pro hero? This was the world that they were trying to step in? Ed had honestly thought that he knew a lot about what it meant to be a hero, but this was miles beyond his understanding. How was he supposed to match up to that one day?

Having defeated the villain tailor-made for him, Ed was certain that All Might could take on the remaining two villains. Sure, they were tough and scary as hell, but this was All Might they were talking about. He’d just made mincemeat out of that bird monster bastard. He could take on a scrawny, weird dude and a talking fog machine. 

Curiously enough though, when Ed glimpsed Midoriya out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Midoriya looked...worried -- frightened even -- which was weird. If there was anyone that believed in All Might more than Ed did, it was Midoriya. He had the utmost faith in the number one hero. So the look on his face now looked off. It didn’t match up with what Ed knew of Midoriya. It was almost like he knew something that they didn’t. Even worse, he had that look in his eyes that he got when he was about to do something stupid.

Ed turned to Midoriya and started to say, “Don’t do it--” when Midoriya was just gone. It made Ed jump and then jerk around to see the other boy hurtling towards the villains like a bullet. “Midoriya!” The hand -- the hands villain -- he was going to grab Midoriya by the face. He’d disintegrated Aizawa’s elbow with that same hand and now it was going to do the same to Midoriya and there was nothing to be done. Even he seemed to know it. Not even All Might had time to react.

An almost soft snap echoed from behind them, making Ed blink, and then a second later, as if the two weren’t correlated at all, a ball of flames burst around the villain’s hand, knocking it away from Midoriya’s face. The villain recoiled his burned hand from the warp gate and cradled it against his chest. There was another snap, this time much louder, and a line of fire shot down the stairs and into the central plaza, curling around Midoriya and All Might protectively like walls. The sheer immensity of the flames forced the villains to stumble back in shock and everyone turned to look up at the stairs.

In a million years, Ed never would have guessed that he would be grateful to see Roy Mustang.

The hero was breathing heavily, his face was flushed, and sweat dripped down his face, but he looked ready to battle despite not being in his hero costume. What took Ed off guard the most was how infuriated Mustang looked, like he was disgusted to the point of rage. Mustang looked like a jackass to him most of the time, but right now, he radiated nothing but an ice cold rage even from here.

“Sorry I’m late!” Mustang called out. “What did I miss?”

His tone didn’t match his expression or demeanor at all. He sounded like himself, but he looked like he wanted to burn the villains alive and would enjoy it. What kind of hero looked like that? It was surreal. Ed suddenly didn’t know what to make of Mustang. All Ed could think was that Mustang was dangerous. When Mustang clenched his fist, the flames died, revealing All Might and Midoriya completely untouched by the fire, the latter of whom wore the most dazed expression.

“Flame Alchemist!” the warp gate villain exclaimed.

Mustang held up his right hand and a nasty grin cut across his face. There was no humor in it, only ice, like the kind that could freeze a man and kill them. “Shall we see if fog burns?”

Was this the hero that Bakugou had talked about during their last class? The one that had burned a villain from the inside out with cold precision? To be honest, Ed hadn’t seen it in Mustang then. The guy was strong, sure, but he was a cocky bastard with a lazy demeanor. From what Ed knew about him, Mustang also hadn’t risen in the pro hero ranks in years, which usually meant they were at the end of their strength. Seeing that sort of massive power though right now didn’t feel like Mustang was done. It felt like he was only in the middle.

There was a tension in the air so thick that Ed was almost certain that something either awful or amazing was going to happen as the villains and Mustang stared each other down with the students in the middle. After that demonstration in class and what he’d done just now, Ed knew that Mustang would be able to attack the villains from where he stood without hitting any students, but there was something about Mustang’s body language that made Ed question whether he wanted to be careful.

He looked like he wanted to burn every villain to ashes and, even worse, like it wouldn’t faze him at all.

Two gunshots echoed through the silence, poking holes in the tension, and there was a pained shout from somewhere in the USJ where the bullets connected with their target.

“My apologies for taking so long, but we’re here now.”

And then there, standing behind Mustang, was the entire UA staff with Principal Nezu at the head. The gunshots must have came from Snipe, who was still aiming carefully. It was a gloriously triumphant sight. Ed could’ve sworn that trumpets sounded and the room got even brighter as they all looked up at the teachers. Iida stood with the group, proudly shouting, “Your class rep has returned -- and I brought reinforcements!”

The mood in the building changed, tipping in favor of the heroes, and the villains knew it. Even though they leapt to attack, they were no match for the pro hero teachers. Present Mic seemed almost excited as he stepped up and let off an insanely loud, “YEEEEAH!” that blew villains off their feet and brought the rest to their knees. It even made Ed bring his hands to his ears, even though he wasn’t in the radius of the direct blast. Ed glanced back up at the teachers again. Mustang’s face softened just enough to make him not look murderous, but the intent never left his dark eyes.

For some reason, Ed couldn’t help but think that it was a good thing the other teachers had arrived and not just for the sake of defeating the villains. He didn’t know where that thought led though.

Snipe shot the hands villain twice in the legs,bringing him to his knees, and the warp gate villain wrapped around him protectively, shielding him from anymore bullets. “We need someone that can reach the villains!” Nezu exclaimed as the villains began to disappear. Ed felt like he’d been frozen by Todoroki’s quirk. He couldn’t move. The only thing he could do was gape at the display of power that was so high up that he’d never considered it was something he couldn’t obtain with ease.

There was another snap and flames rose around the warp gate, forcing the villains to curl in on themselves, and then Thirteen activated their quirk, sucking both the villains and the fire into their black hole and starting to disintegrate them. Whenever they tried to pull back though, the flames roped them in further. However, the split second before had been just enough to give them the time to escape, with the hands guy promising that he would kill All Might. Even though they were down and out for the count, he was still passionate in his crazy desire.

This was nothing like the entrance exam where they’d been forced to fight robots or the combat training when they had had to fight each other. Villains were on an entirely different level. 

Mustang cut out the flames again and Thirteen deactivated their quirk. Nothing but scorched ground suggested that there had ever been any fire, not even smoke, even though it had been close enough that Ed had been able to feel the intense heat. The red fire had flickered to blue in spots, but it had still been controlled. A strange silence fell over the four boys as the whole thing fell on them. Only Kirishima stirred, noticing Midoriya lying on the ground with broken legs and an exhausted but relieved look on his face, and ran to check on him.

Ed scratched the back of his head with his right arm. He caught eyes with Bakugou, who was looking at him with suspicious eyes, and Ed dropped his arm and angled away from Bakugou so that he couldn't see the metal of the prosthetic. Out of everyone in the class, Bakugou was the last person that Ed wanted to know about his arm. It would come out eventually, but he wanted it to be on his own terms.

Like a light bulb turning on, Al popped into Ed’s head and he jumped like he’d been shocked. He didn’t even know where his brother was. Despite being tired, he ran up the steps towards the doors thinking that he’d be able to get a better view, only to see that his brother was up there. Relief washed over Ed. So he hadn’t been warped into another zone.

“Brother!” Al exclaimed. “You just vanished and I didn’t know where you went.”

“I got dropped in the fire zone with Ojiro,” Ed explained.

Al’s eyes dropped to the ripped and burnt sleeve of his jacket. “Your arm--”

“It’s fine,” Ed interrupted before his brother could say anything else. Uraraka and Sero were coming over to them and though he liked them plenty, he didn’t want to talk about it in front of them. “Are you okay?”

Al brightened up quickly. “Yeah, we only had to deal with that warp gate villain. We got rid of him real quick after Uraraka spotted his weakness.” Uraraka blushed, clearly not expecting the upfront acknowledgement. “She ran right up to him when he was distracted and threw him in the air with her quirk.”

“I-it wasn’t much,” Uraraka said quickly, “and Sero and Sato helped too!”

When it had counted the most, it appeared as if they had all come together to use their quirks to fight. That was something that heroes had to do and spent time learning in class. But when it came to it and they had been faced with villains, they’d immediately jumped into combining their quirks to fight back. This was the kind of learning that couldn’t be done with a class. It might have helped them immensely, but Ed didn’t think clashing with villains was something he wanted to do all the time as a student. Maybe just like every few months. He wouldn’t mind kicking some ass again. It had felt good not to hold back.

“What happened with you?” Sero asked as they joined up with Ojiro and Hagkura. Everyone had a story to tell since they’d all been separated and placed in different zones.

However, as Ojiro began to tell everyone how they’d managed against villains, Ed’s eyes were drawn to the teachers that weren’t currently dealing with rounding up the villains left behind. Mustang and Nezu stood to the side, quietly conversing with one another. There was nothing on Mustang’s face now, a blank sheet that hid everything going on in his head. It was a talent in its own to be able to do that, but it irritated the hell out of Ed.

“...I could have stopped them,” Mustang was saying, his hands in his pockets. Ed wondered if he was still wearing those white gloves. He’d come down from the high of the run here and battle, though his hair was still a mess and his shirt was still sticky with sweat.

“And break your pristine record?” Nezu countered. “I didn’t bring you to UA so that you would be forced to break your promise to yourself.”

“Would it not have been better than letting them escape?” Mustang asked.

Nezu shrugged his shoulders and simply said, “I suppose that’s up to you,” before walking away so that he could deal with the police.

Ed watched Mustang standing there gazing down at one of his gloved hands, his brow furrowed slightly as he considered Nezu’s words. It was hard to know exactly what they had been talking about, but it was at least easy to tell that it had been the two villains that had managed to escape. Mustang had sealed them in place so that Thirteen’s black hole quirk could kill them or force them to surrender. But couldn’t he have done the same thing with his quirk? Ed had seen the look on Mustang’s face after he’d saved Midoriya. He looked like he would’ve gladly done it.

A hard, determined look came over Mustang’s face and he clenched his open hand into a fist, apparently having made his decision over whatever was troubling him. Ed couldn’t tell if it was good or bad though, except that it made Mustang look tired for a moment.

As if knowing that he was being watched, Mustang lifted his head and connected eyes with Ed, who met him with an equally hard gaze. Mustang didn’t say anything though -- he didn’t even change his expression -- he just looked back for a beat and then walked away towards Midnight, who had her hands full with a couple of dazed villains. For some reason, that look just made Ed’s hackles rise more, but he didn’t have much time to linger on it when he was being guided onto a bus to return to UA’s main campus.


	12. Introspective

The next time they came to school was decidedly very strange. Bakugou couldn’t decide if it was real or a dream, which threw him off the entire day. Things were just so  _ normal _ and then they weren’t. It irritated the hell out of him. They went to their regular school classes during the day, the pro heroes acting like it was just another day during their lessons. Present Mic was his giddy, loud self, like he hadn’t demolished some villains on campus the other day. No one even mentioned the USJ Incident, which it was now being called on the news.

Students from the other classes kept giving them odd looks, some opening their mouths like they wanted to say something, but then he’d shoot them a heated glare or a scowl and they’d scurry away from him. He was not about to deal with stupid people asking him stupid questions.

Bakugou had heard one student from Class 1-B ask Kaminari if he had been afraid. Bakugou scoffed at that. Hell no he hadn’t been afraid. The second that stupid ass warp gate villain had sent him and Kirishima to another zone, he had vowed to blast that foggy bastard to high hell. Sure, it hadn’t happened that way, but that was because All Might had come in. Even if he had been afraid, Bakugou found it hard when All Might was around.

Not to mention when the Flame Alchemist had arrived in true form.

Those flames were still stuck in Bakugou’s head a full day later. The way they’d roared down the steps like a dragon and then wrapped themselves protectively around Deku and All Might, blocking them from the villains. It had looked just as simple as when that tiny pop of fire had knocked that villain’s hand away from Deku’s face. Two very big differences, but neither one of them less in strength. It was easy to get overwhelmed by the grandness of those large flames, but Mustang had been so far away and that bit of fire that struck the villain without hitting Deku despite being inches away was what really got Bakugou.

Would he ever be capable of such precision? He thought so, but then his quirk didn’t allow for long range attacks. If he needed to hit something far away, he had to let off a massive explosion. He liked doing that. It was flashy and it brought all eyes on him. A huge explosion was impossible to ignore. The Flame Alchemist was a showy pro hero as well; it was why Bakugou had noticed him first. Seeing him work on both a large and small scale had been eye-opening. It made him want to explore his quirk more.

Bakugou was sitting in their homeroom class, feet on his desk and thinking darkly on the fact that he’d had to be saved by All Might and maybe even the Flame Alchemist when the door swung open. He didn’t know who he was expecting to come in, seeing as how Aizawa had been brutally attacked by Nomu, but it hadn’t been Mustang, especially not almost entirely in his pro hero costume.

“Evening class,” Mustang greeted coolly as he walked up front. Everyone snapped into attention, although Bakugou didn’t pull his feet down from his desk. Instead, he folded his arms and hardened his expression as he gazed up front. Normally, Mustang did as All Might sometimes did, wearing plain clothes, but he’d switched it for the costume that anyone would recognize as the Flame Alchemist. It was somehow flashy and understated at the same time, like he was going to a fancy party and maybe rob every single rich asshole there if he felt like it with a smile on his face.

Engine Legs raised a hand. “Where is Aizawa?”

“He’s still recuperating,” Mustang explained. “Give him another day or two and I’m sure he’ll show up.”

“That’s way too soon!” Round Face exclaimed. Pft, not for a pro hero.

“So manly,” Kirishma added. “Maybe too much, if that’s possible.”

Mustang grinned goodnaturedly. “He’d be here sooner if it didn’t give him an excuse to stay in bed longer.”

Despite the fact that Aizawa wasn’t here for a very serious reason, most everyone managed to laugh at the comment. It was easy to picture their homeroom teacher curled up in his blankets all day, although the lightness was interrupted by the remembrance that he was there for a reason. Bakugou hadn’t seen Aizawa fighting the villains on his own or get overwhelmed by that huge brain bird villain and hands villain, but from what he’d heard, it had been more than horrific.

“In the meantime, you’re stuck with me as a substitute,” Mustang continued. Braid Boy groaned out loud and sunk in his seat. It didn’t affect Mustang’s positive bordering on smug attitude in the slightest; in fact, it seemed to make it worse. “Oh trust me, this isn’t a joy for me either. This means extra work.”

“Boo hoo, we work a lot too!” Braid Boy said.

“I’m not denying that U.A., as the most prestigious hero school, puts you through the ringer, but come back to me when you’re running your own pro agency and teaching at said school,” Mustang countered with ease. Braid Boy turned a little red in the face and turned away with a scowl, but he didn’t complain anymore at least. He still hadn’t gotten over Mustang using him as a guinea pig on his first day. Bakugou thought it was genuinely amusing.

The rest of the class was relatively boring, especially after their fight with villains at USJ. It was weird doing such normal, boring things with that looming over their heads. Even though they went through the motions of school, it was in the back of all their heads, waiting to be brought up. No one did though, at least not in large groups. As they got into smaller ones though, talk of it could be heard. The problem was that they’d talked through it so much already, but it was hard to let go of. After all, they were just kids and they’d been attacked by villains.

It hadn’t been the first time for Bakugou though.

The memory of the sludge monster rested in the back of Bakugou’s mind at all times, like an itch he couldn’t get rid of, but the USJ attack had brought it to the forefront. He’d had to be rescued -- again. By All Might --  _ again _ . While he knew that he was stronger now than he was a year ago, he could admit that he was nowhere near the level necessary to defeat that Nomu guy. The thing had been created to specifically fight All Might. Bakugou swore that he would surpass All Might one day, but it was not this day and those villains had proved it.

He hadn’t even seen the villain dashing to attack him. All he had heard was the command to free the warp gate villain and then he was on the ground next to Deku. It was less than a second, but he hadn’t seen a single thing. He hadn’t seen All Might knock him out of the way and take the brunt of Nomu’s punch. It was like when the sludge monster had got him. He hadn’t been able to react in time before it felt like the sludge was trying to squeeze his organs out of him to make room for itself.

All he could do was explode. Bakugou tightened his hands into fists under his arms. Was that all he could do?

No, no, he could do more than that. He  _ would _ do more than that. He was going to be the best.

By the time class was over, everyone was eager to leave school. Bakugou was slower, taking his time in dragging himself out of his desk and getting his things together. Kirishima gave him a look that he pointedly ignored and then the spiky-haired boy left with Sparky and Alien Girl. After slinging his backpack over one shoulder, Bakugou made his way up to the front where Mustang was shuffling papers that Aizawa had presumably given him in order to teach the class.

As soon as Mustang noticed him, Bakugou burst out accusingly, “You held back.”

The statement was so out of the blue and with no context that a surprised glow actually flickered in Mustang’s eyes before they went back to their usual guarded. For someone that came off as so open and confident on television and even while teaching, Bakugou had started to notice that there was a very large wall in between Mustang and everyone else. It was like he gave off the aura of being open without actually being so. Bakugou never hid how he felt and never tried.

“You want me to be meaner to students?” Mustang quierred, though Bakugou could tell that his teacher knew that that wasn’t what he was talking about.

“At USJ,” Bakugou reiterated. “You held back.”

Mustang considered him for a moment with that unreadable expression on his face. It was like nothing could get past him or get out of him. No emotion or thought that he didn’t want to share could get past that look. Bakugou held his stare, forcing himself to look equally as blank, although he couldn’t hide the heat from his eyes. It was one thing to see in person just how strong his favorite hero was; it was quite another to know that said hero could be stronger.

“If you’d been paying attention in my lessons,” Mustang said, “then you would remember that going all out isn’t always the answer.”

“Bullshit,” Bakugou ground out. Mustang didn’t react. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” Maybe he shouldn’t be swearing at a teacher that could blast him out of the building or give him a weeks worth of detention, but someone had to call him out and he wasn’t sure if anyone else realized it. Those flames had been overwhelming. “You could have ended those villains right then and there!”

“Are you certain about that?” Mustang asked him. “Sure I wasn’t at my quirk limit?”

Bakugou shook his head. “No way, I know you could’ve done more, but you didn’t. You held back.”

There was another beat of silence where they stared each other down. Bakugou couldn’t help but feel like it was either a competition or a test and if he backed down then he would lose something. This was a man that Bakugou had spent years looking up to and admiring. If he crumbled under this pressure, he’d lose any sort of respect as a future hero that he’d gained.

Finally, Mustang nodded his head and sat down in the seat behind the desk. “You’re right. I did.”

“Why?” Bakugou felt vindicated in not only getting an answer but being right -- and yet he didn’t feel good about it like he normally did. It was hard to feel good about something that didn’t make sense to him.

Mustang leaned back in the seat and propped his feet on the desk as Bakugou had done for half the class, looking as if the position was more familiar to him than sitting upright. He looked at ease despite talking about something that he had avoided. “I made a promise to myself when I wasn’t much older than you that I wouldn’t kill anyone with my quirk. I don’t know if it was the right decision, but it’s the one I made.”

“That’s stupid,” Bakugou responded with all the bluntness of a dull knife. “Villains aren’t going to be that noble. They won’t hold back or hesitate to kill you or innocent civilians. Why should you?”

“That’s a good question and one we can discuss without ever getting a good answer,” Mustang conceded. Again, it felt like Bakugou had given the right response but was still wrong somehow. He laced his fingers together. “The thing with my quirk though is that it is  _ very _ easy to kill someone with it. Bringing a difficult villain to their knees or forcing them to surrender without killing them is much harder. I have to remind myself that daily.”

Bakugou flexed his free hand at his side while his other tightly gripped the one strap of his backpack. Already he could feel the nitroglycerin sweat building up on his skin. It was so easy to let off explosions. Ever since his quirk had manifested, he’d used it all the time to build up its strength. He wanted to be the strongest. He wanted to be the best. The idea that Mustang routinely held himself back was a concept Bakugou couldn’t understand. Why? If he could be stronger, then he should be.

Even if that strength killed someone? Bakugou hesitated. It wouldn’t be that difficult. He had made sure that the massive explosion he let off during the combat simulation wouldn’t killed Deku, but if he’d actually aimed at the little green-haired shit instead of to the side, it would have killed him. He would have killed him. And it wouldn’t have been anything. Setting off his quirk was like breathing.

He wondered if it was like that for Mustang. If the reason he held back was because killing someone would’ve been as easy as breathing.

“Quirks like ours Bakugou are something that a lot of people admire because they’re powerful,” Mustang told him. Try as he might not to, it did affect Bakugou that Mustang was lumping the two of them together. “But they are also something that people fear.”

“I don’t care about that,” Bakugou said. “If people fear me, it’s because of my strength and they’re weak.”

“If you look down on those that you see as inferior, you’re never going to become a good hero,” Mustang said. The statement cut Bakugou down to the bone. “Trust me; I have worked alongside plenty of people that I consider to be weaker than me. I’ve worked with people that I loathe and want to light on fire and I know I can. I know I could put them in their place.”

“So why don’t you?” Bakugou asked. “What’s the point of having all that power if you aren’t going to use it all?”

Mustang held his hands up briefly and then let them fall back down against his chest. “I don’t have to use it all in order to accomplish what I want.” To think that he’d made it to the number four hero spot while still holding back was an accomplishment in itself, but Bakugou didn’t understand. “My quirk is very deadly and I have to recognize it as such and also understand that it’s important that I control it instead of the other way around. When I do lose control, when I stop holding myself back, things can get...dicey.”

Bakugou frowned further. “Like how?”

“You remember the fight you talked about in class the other day?” Mustang prompted.

“Yeah, the villain with the fire resistant skin and healing quirk whose eyes and mouth you burned.” Bakugou shrugged his shoulders. He kind of thought that was one of Mustang’s coolest and impressive takedowns. It was unfortunate that no footage had surfaced, only one anonymous eye witness recount. Even stranger was that he didn’t seem pleased about it. “What of it?”

“The villain did have a healing quirk, so I had to constantly keep burning him from the inside out in order to bring him down,” Mustang explained coolly. “He had to be hospitalized before he could be arrested and he eventually recovered -- for the most part.” That didn’t make sense. The villain’s healing quirk should’ve done the trick, even if it was on the inside. “The damage I inflicted was so great that it essentially burned his quirk out in those areas. I didn’t allow it the time to fix it and after several failed attempts it just...accepted the damage as normal.”

That was a little more horrific that Bakugou expected. He’d never read anything about that and he’d done a lot of digging around when he was younger on hero forums. From group chats and threads speculating on All Might’s true quirk to hidden footage of the Flame Alchemist’s more brutal villain takedowns that were kept out of the public eye, there was a lot to be found online. He’d never heard of someone using their quirk so much that it more or less quit on them. After plenty of recuperation, a quirk would come back. It would do its job. But give up? That was unheard of.

“His eyesight was permanently damaged and he was no longer able to talk,” Mustang finished. “I think it took a year before he could eat on his own. All this done in prison.” He pulled his feet down and sat leaned forward, his forearms pressed on top of the desk. “I did all of that while completely in control and holding back. I’m not overly fond of considering what I’m capable of if I didn’t do that. Are you?”

Bakugou shoved his sweaty hands in his pockets. “I’m in control. I don’t need to hold back.”

“I hope you’re right.” Mustang shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe you are. Maybe I shouldn’t have held back then. Maybe I should have killed those villains. They were going to kill you, after all.” Not fucking likely. No way was Bakugou going to let those jackasses get him. “If we cross paths again, I doubt I’ll be as...merciful.”

If that was merciful, then Bakugou really wanted to see what Mustang was capable of when he wasn’t. Then again, he thought back to the cold expression on Mustang’s face at the top of the USJ stairs after he’d saved Deku. What had he said to the warp gate villain?

_ “Shall we see if fog burns?” _

It was nothing worse than what Bakugou had told that villain while holding him down with an explosive palm. But that vicious grin on his face and the way he’d said it had given Bakugou pause. Like Mustang was more than ready to burn the place down. Like he was asking for an excuse to let loose. Bakugou could understand that very well. He felt that itch so often, but he couldn’t scratch it and didn’t know where it was coming from. He didn’t want to do evil; he didn’t want to be a villain by any means. He wanted to be a hero more than anything. But that didn’t stop him from feeling like he was burning from the inside out too.

*

Todoroki couldn’t get the flames out of his head. He’d never seen anything like it before and he had lived with fire his entire life. His father had excellent control over his quirk and was incredibly powerful, being able to bend fire to his will in several unique ways to even create weapons, but Todoroki had never seen him manipulate his hellfire in such a way before. Mustang’s fire had looked  _ alive _ . It had snaked around Midoriya and All Might like it had a will of its own, as if it wanted to protect them and not just Mustang. It had roared to life down the stairs in a way that made Todoroki think that the fire was separate from the hero.

The moment Todoroki had seen the pop of fire struck the villain’s hand and saved Midoriya, panic had flared in his mind for a second. Fire was so intrinsically connected to his father that for a second he had thought that his father was at the USJ. He couldn’t even say why he had panicked. It hadn’t lasted longer than two seconds, seeing as how he was no longer afraid of the man.

Maybe the high of the battle had thrown him off course. Those two villains had been in a different class from the ones he’d dealt with in the earthquake zone on his own and he’d been unsettled after the Nomu had broken through his ice. He had been sure that All Might could take on the hands villain and warp gate villain, but then Midoriya had jumped into the battle before anyone could even blink. Midoriya would have died if not for Mustang’s intervention. Any of them could have -- that had been the villains’ plan -- but they hadn’t.

Mortality had already been ingrained in Todoroki’s head through his father’s constant training of him over the years, but none of his classmates had ever been forced to deal with it before. He wondered if any of them felt differently about wanting to become a hero after seeing what they would be forced to deal with. It was one thing to train to become a hero; it was another to face death head on. Even for Todoroki, it had felt different, but he’d been so in the moment that he hadn’t noticed it until after the fact.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t the fact that he could have been killed that stopped him. The villains that he’d dealt with on his own had been lower levels than him. He would’ve been humiliated and felt the urge to leave U.A. if he had let them beat him. Mustang’s quirk though set Todoroki on edge.

Was this why his father hated the man so much? Because he had different sort of power over his fire quirk? Because he was so strong? Was it just the fire itself? Endeavor had been the only hero around with a fire quirk until the Flame Alchemist showed up seven years ago. The idea of what they might be able to accomplish should they work together had come up in multiple interviews, all of which Endeavor had shut down aggressively. The hatred Endeavor held towards Mustang was different from the kind he held against All Might. It felt more personal.

And there was nothing so personal as fire, in Todoroki’s mind, as he struggled with it on a daily basis.

Without really thinking about it, Todoroki held up his left hand, palm up, and produced a flame a few inches over it. He could still remember fire hurting him when he was a child first learning his quirk. It had turned against him during the beginning of his training with Endeavor and he’d feared it. Nowadays, it didn’t hurt him anymore. The fire was nothing, just a warm breeze, but it was strange seeing it. He hadn’t produced an actual flame in months, using his left side for little more than to melt the ice he created with his right. Still, it came to him as naturally as breathing when he thought about it.

Before Todoroki could put the fire out or consider what he was doing, he heard someone exclaim, “Whoa! I’ve never seen you do that before!” and he glanced over to see Edward Elric staring at him an excited expression on his face.

Todoroki clenched his fist and the fire went out. Stupid. How could he have been so careless as to use the fire half of his quirk while at school? And right before a hero class too so that anyone could see him? Discomfort rattled inside of him as Edward walked over to him. His younger brother was behind him talking with Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida. Only Edward appeared to have noticed what Todoroki had done.

“It’s nothing,” Todoroki decided on saying, despite the fact that it really wasn’t. At least not to him.

“It looked pretty cool to me, considering I’ve only ever seen you use the ice half of your quirk,” Edward pointed out. His tone was matter-of-fact, neither judging the fact that Todoroki only used his ice half nor saying that he should use his fire half more often. It was just something he’d noticed. “Seems like you’re not using your quirk to the best of your abilities if you only use half of it.”

Even though he knew that Edward was only making an observation, Todoroki bristled. Edward wasn’t trying to tell him how to use his quirk, not like Endeavor or even Mustang, but it still put him on edge. “How I use my quirk is up to me.”

Edward held up his hands in defense. “Okay, okay, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” He dropped his hands and gave Todoroki a shrewd grin. “It’ll just make it easier to beat you.”

Todoroki narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything in response and it appeared as if Edward didn’t expect him to. The other boy turned back to his brother and friends, jumping into the conversation effortlessly as if he hadn’t been talking to Todoroki a second ago. For all of Edward’s hardheadedness, he did get along well with people when he wanted to, even if he did have a habit of inserting his foot in his mouth a lot. He had a lot of confidence that bordered on arrogance sometimes, but it wasn’t near as bad as Bakugou at least.

Just when Todoroki told himself to forget about USJ and turned away from the other students, he looked up and caught eyes with Mustang. The hero was teaching their class today, along with homeroom. How long had he been standing there? Had he seen Todoroki produce the flame? It was hard to tell with Mustang, who knew how to be even more closed off and cold than Todoroki.

However, when Mustang held up his hand and produced a similar flame, tilting his head, a hard look came over Todoroki’s face, lips pressed together and eyes flat, and he walked away. That was all Todoroki needed to see in order to know that his teacher had seen him. He didn’t know what Mustang’s response meant though. Was it a challenge? A question? But to what end? He’d sworn that he would never use his flames in combat and he wasn’t about to let that go.

And still, those flames rested in the back of his head, calling to him, demanding to be seen. It made him feel like he was burning from the inside out. From anger, frustration, insecurity -- he didn’t know and he loathed it more.


	13. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy begins the process of rebuilding some burned bridges and has a serious conversation with Principal Nezu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love writing about Roy's time at U.A., especially with Aizawa, or maybe I just love writing about Aizawa. Who knows? We're slowly getting more and more information about that time.

When Roy stepped into Recovery Girl’s office, he was mildly surprised that Aizawa was awake, seeing as how he had an actual excuse to sleep for however long he wanted. Not only that, but Recovery Girl’s quirk sucked the energy out of a person in order for it to heal a person. With his injuries, Aizawa probably should’ve still been out cold, but instead he was sitting up in bed, wrapped up in an absurd amount of gauze.

“I’d say you look like shit,” Roy greeted, “but I can’t actually see you.”

Besides his messy hair, the only part of Aizawa that didn’t seem to be covered up by bandages were his eyes, which flickered over to Roy and then rolled away in acknowledgement. Every time Aizawa did that, Roy always had that kneejerk gut reaction that his quirk was being canceled, but he hadn’t done it since Roy had started working at UA. When they had been at school, he had done it to Roy almost as a joke, although one couldn’t be sure if Aizawa did have a sense of humor at times. He did; it was just incredibly dark and as dry as cardboard.

There was nothing to really joke about right now, but Roy simply wasn’t in the mood to be depressing. Everyone had naturally been on edge since the USJ Incident, especially Roy himself, but he didn’t like lingering on it. He was already irritated with himself for letting those villains go. He could’ve stopped them. He should have. On some level, Bakugou had been right. What was the point of holding himself up to a higher moral standard when villains would not meet him on that level? Letting villains as dangerous as that get away simply because he didn’t want a guilty conscience was not an option.

It was frustrating that a student had called him out on it, but then it wasn’t like he’d never thought it before. Even stranger was that it was something that he didn’t like talking with Riza about and he talked about everything with her. She knew what he was capable of the most, maybe more than himself, and he always worried that it would disappoint her somehow. A silly concern, but one he had nonetheless. Nezu hadn’t given him any answers, choosing to guide Roy into making his own decision, which was so like the principal.

After Roy had watched Bakugou stomp out of the classroom yesterday morning, it had occurred to him that this was the sort of topic that he would’ve once discussed with Aizawa when they had still been sort of friends.

Handing over some paperwork to Aizawa, Roy took the seat next to the bed. Aizawa picked up the papers and flipped through them. To most, his actions would appear languid and disinterested, but his gaze was too sharp to be anything but intense. He took his job as a teacher very seriously, even if it did spend half of it cocooned in his sleeping bag. The pro heroes of the future was no joke. One day these kids would replace them, as both heroes and as teachers for future students.

Roy sank in the seat and let out a sigh. “Were we like this at their age?”

“You were worse,” Aizawa replied without missing a beat or looking up from the papers.

“You sure about that?” Roy snorted.

Aizawa reconsidered for a moment, finally lifting his gaze. Roy could see him flipping through the catalogue of students in his mind and then Aizawa conceded with a shrug of his shoulders. It was relative. On a bad day and not counting the Incident, Roy probably had been worse, but it was different now that he was on the other side. He kind of wished that he could look up some of his old teachers and write them apologies.

Setting the papers aside, Aizawa caught Roy yawning and asked, “Don’t tell me it’s too much work for you.”

“No, I just picked up a few more hours at the agency last night,” Roy explained. Those hours hadn’t really been for the agency, even though he had been there half the time. He’d been combing through that murder file again. It was like he could feel it getting colder in his hands every time he went through it. He’d used a patrol as an excuse to look at the scene of the crime, even though it had been going on two in the morning.

Truth be told, Roy felt like he was being pulled in three different directions and he knew that if he wasn’t careful that he’d start getting sloppy. Burning the midnight oil only worked for so long before a person was just burned out. Still, he managed to not look as exhausted as Aizawa did on his better days. It helped to shave. As long as he kept up appearances, few noticed any differences in his behavior -- with the exception of Riza, of course. He couldn’t get anything past her, but she hadn’t asked him outright yet.

It appeared as if Aizawa was suspicious of Roy’s answer as well, somehow conveying it quite well through his eyes only, but didn’t say anything about it. He was incredibly analytical and observant. It probably stemmed with his quirk, which forced him to examine everything and everyone carefully. Lying to him had always been difficult. Roy rather thought that the fact that he’d been able to get something past him back when they were teenagers had stung Aizawa almost as much as the act of betrayal itself.

“I’m still not sure why Nezu thought I’d be best suited to sub for you,” Roy said offhandedly. “Kayama or Yamada have more experience. I had to go off notes. I looked like...Toshinori.”

It was weird calling All Might by his name, but all the other teachers did it and he had insisted Roy do so, like they were old friends. “You might be the number four hero, Mustang, but I consider us equals here,” the number one hero had told him. So honorable, such trust. It left Roy feeling adrift, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, just odd. They were equals here. Roy had forgotten what that felt like. Out in the field, as a pro hero, it felt like rankings were everything.

“I gave Nezu the suggestion for you to take my place while I recuperated,” Aizawa told him.

Roy could not remember a time feeling so shocked, to the point where it felt like he’d been zapped by Kaminari’s electricity quirk. Somehow, he managed to keep most of the surprise off his face, but he raised his eyebrows a hair too much and Aizawa knew.

“Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Roy said, “but I can’t deny that it’s unexpected.”

“The students like you,” Aizawa pointed out.

“I didn’t know that was a requirement or even a good thing.”

Aizawa’s gaze was so straightforward. It always had been. Despite being a hero that jumped in when least expected with quick attacks, he was really good at throwing people off their guard head on. “You connect well with them, especially the more difficult students, and they’re more familiar with you.”

“Are you saying that you think I’m a good teacher?” Roy asked, a grin on his face.

“Don’t push it, Mustang,” Aizawa said in that familiar flat tone of his.

Still, it made Roy’s grin broaden. That was as close to a compliment as he was going to get from Aizawa, but what really felt good was Aizawa’s confidence. After that first clashing during their combat simulation, they had learned to work well together, making quick work of other teams whenever they were paired together. Even if they were like oil and water at times, they had both been confident in each other’s abilities. It would never be like old times, but then they were older now, more mature and wiser for what they’d done. Things evolved.

“I’m still unsure if Nezu made the correct decision in hiring you,” Aizawa continued, never one to sugarcoat his thoughts in order to soften a blow, “but you did not hesitate to jump in at USJ.”

The grin fell from Roy’s face as he took a breath. Yeah, it was time to talk about it. “I didn’t put nearly as much effort into it as you. I should’ve been there.”

“That certainly would have made things a lot easier,” Aizawa said. “I’ll admit to not wanting you there.”

Roy rubbed the back of his neck. “I figured as much.”

“But Toshinori trusted you to have his back and you did that and more.” Aizawa might not have liked All Might and his wildly cheerful behavior towards the students or his approach to heroism, but he couldn’t deny that the number one hero’s faith in Roy meant something. “He and Midoriya would’ve died had you not intervened at that moment.”

“I barely made it.” Roy sunk back in the chair again. “I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast in my life.”

“You should work on your cardio,” Aizawa told him, which caused Roy to shake his head. Of course he would say that. Aizawa could jump around and fight like an Olympic gymnast. He’d always been much better at such things than Roy, which had irritated him to no end while in school.

The whole thing was over, but the “what ifs” still bothered Roy. Any second later and Midoriya would’ve been disintegrated right before All Might’s eyes and the Symbol of Peace would have been destroyed. Roy still couldn’t get that image out of his head. He was so used to Midoriya’s eyes being filled with raw determination and  brightness that the fear in them then had looked wrong on every level.

“I… I almost lost control,” Roy admitted. “I saw what they were about to do to Midoriya and Toshinori -- and then I saw you and Thirteen and all the students and I just--”

By the time Roy had arrived, Aizawa had been lying unconscious between Asui and Mineta after being saved from the Nomu by All Might. His body had been bloody and broken, his elbow crumbled all the way to the muscle and bone, his goggles shattered and his face smashed in. It had been a horrific sight, one that had had Roy flashing back to when another one of his friends had been hurt. That time it had been by his hands and Roy could still recall the smell of burnt flesh and all the blood staining his hands and shirt.

He’d seen it again when his eyes had landed on Aizawa and so much rage had burned inside of him.

“I’ve been told that you showed exemplary control over your quirk,” Aizawa told him.

Roy chuckled darkly. “Yeah, I did, but I didn’t want to.” He flexed his fingers, trying not to cringe over the bareness of them. He didn’t need his gloves for his actual quirk to work, but he much preferred them. Fire made it easier to focus and control his quirk. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like that -- you know, that  _ angry _ . I don’t have to go all out very often anymore. I didn’t, but… I don’t know. Maybe I should have.”

“You can’t still be afraid of your quirk,” Aizawa said.

“No, I’m not,” Roy replied edgily. He didn’t like that Aizawa knew that about him. Everyone had always assumed that Roy was completely confident in his quirk. It was so powerful and strong that his classmates never seemed to notice when it escaped him at times. Aizawa hadn’t though and canceled Roy’s quirk whenever it came close to going out of control. It had come in handy while he learned to master it completely.

Aizawa examined him carefully. “I’m still not sure why you struggled with it so much. I forgot about it until I watched Midoriya’s quirk turn on him, like his body isn’t used to his quirk yet. It was the same with you.”

That had been because Roy  _ hadn’t _ been used to that new facet of his quirk. Up until a year before, Roy had not been able to create fire and manipulate it. His true quirk was oxygen manipulation, something that now only Riza and his foster mother knew other than himself. It had been thanks to Riza’s father that Roy had been able to evolve his quirk, but the man had been slow about handing over his knowledge and he had passed away before fully teaching Roy how to control this new ability of his quirk.

All that power and little control had put Roy in a volatile position.

“Do any of these kids have complete control over their quirk?” Roy countered. “Remember when you used to turn people’s quirks off on accident whenever you got too nervous or angry.”

“That only happened a few times,” Aizawa pointed out.

“Or when you were getting used to those scarves and you’d trip over them or get tangled up?”

Aizawa was not amused at the tables being turned. Granted, his mess ups while learning to master his quirk in a hero capacity had not nearly been on the same level as Roy’s. There had been that one time during a class when Aizawa had accidentally canceled Roy’s quirk when they were on the same team. When Aizawa had realized what he was doing and blinked it away, Roy had been scrambling for his quirk so hard that he’d nearly exploded the both of them when it came rushing back to him.

Kids with powerful quirks… What a nightmare. Just thinking of what kids like Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya were capable of gave him a headache.

“Is it what you expected?” Aizawa asked. “Teaching?”

“Well, I didn’t expect the League of Villains to show up and declare war on us,” Roy offered. He leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. “Probably should have since that’s just my luck.” He gave Aizawa a shrewd look. “Did my stepping in at USJ at least help to convince Yamada think that I’m not some sort of villain in disguise?”

At this, Aizawa leaned back in his bed, as if the conversation had worn him down. “I wouldn’t expect one of his howling musical birthday cards, but he’s not complaining about you nonstop anymore.”

“There’s hope yet,” Roy sighed, pressing his hands on his thighs and pushing himself up on his feet. That was the point of being a hero though, wasn’t it? That there was always hope.

He turned to leave and let Aizawa rest before Aizawa called out, “Mustang?” and Roy glanced back at him. Aizawa’s eyes were shut. With those bandages wrapped around him and the way he laid still in bed, he kind of looked, well, like a mummy. “The next time we cross paths with those villains” -- because they would, something neither Roy nor Aizawa doubted -- “don’t hesitate to go all out.”

Roy nodded his head in understanding and simply said, “Okay,” and then walked out of the office. He knew what Aizawa was asking of him and that it was the same decision he had come up with outside of USJ. There would be no holding back the second time around. There would be no hesitation. As a pro hero, it was his job to bear the responsibility and consequences.

What Roy hadn’t been expecting was the implied words of his old friend:  _ Don’t hesitate to go all out; I’ve got your back. _

*

Roy knocked on the door of principal’s office before opening it and peering inside. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Ah, yes, Mustang, come in,” Nezu called forth. “You’re right on time.”

Which meant that he’d just fixed tea. Roy had never drank so much tea in his life than he had his last year at this school. Nezu seemed to run on the stuff. Making it ahead of time was an easy way to get on his good side, although he had caught on to Roy’s behavior quickly. Apparently positive reinforcement did not work on Nezu, even though he routinely used it on students. Now that Roy was a teacher at U.A. instead of a student, he wasn’t so sure that Nezu didn’t use it on the teachers as well.

Roy found himself stepping fully inside the office and closing the door. He’d been in here a few times already since taking Nezu up on his job offer, but he was always struck by how similar it was to when he’d been a student. It was like stepping right into the past. A few things had changed, of course. The paint had been touched up; there were a few more pictures; and a newer but similar-looking couch. For the most part though, his office had stayed the same. It was consistent, steady, a source of power in its own way.

The amount of times he’d walked into this office would astound any student here, most of whom had never seen the inside of it. In a way, its familiarity had been comforting despite the threat that hung over him every time he came in here.  _ Be good enough,  _ he’d tell himself,  _ just be good enough. _ Some days he didn’t know what that might entail. Nezu never said anything specific to make him think this way, but it had been ingrained in a teenage Roy’s mind nonetheless. Once he was sitting down though and sipping tea, the stress would slowly ebb away.

Strange that so many years later, the thought still came to mind, but he no longer had anything to prove. He’d done it already. He was the number four hero. At only thirty, he was the youngest to get so high on the pro hero ranking list. He could be proud of where he was. He had been honest when he’d told All Might that he’d made peace with his position, even if All Might didn’t know the exact reasons. It had hurt at first, but he didn’t have it in him to hold the same grudge as Endeavor did at being stuck at number two.

He was a hero, but he almost hadn’t been able to be one. A number meant very little compared to nothing at all.

“We haven’t spoken properly since right after the USJ Incident,” Nezu explained as he poured them both two cups of tea and then sat down on the couch.

Roy sat down across from him. “I told you everything that happened.”

“Yes, of course, but it’s the aftermath that I’m concerned about.” Nezu picked up his cup, but didn’t take a sip of it yet, choosing to hold it and let it warm his paws. “We’re getting a lot of criticism for it and while some of it is harsh I cannot help but agree with them.”

The papers and news coverage had not been particularly kind to UA after what happened. During Roy’s Incident, they had managed to cover it up entirely, mostly due to the fact that much of it had happened off campus. This was something different. Villains had attacked students right under the noses of the teachers. They had been able to get on campus. All of them knew that it had something to do with the reporters being able to get past the gates, but no one could put a finger on it.

How had they gotten in? Had a villain destroyed the door? Had someone on the inside let them in? That last one left a bitter taste in Roy’s mouth, but it wasn’t something he could ignore.

“Are you having doubts about our security?” Roy asked.

“Well, as you know, the security of the school rests heavily on not just defense but strength on the inside,” Nezu pointed out.

It was a roundabout way of saying it, but Roy understood what he meant and felt his stomach turn a little, causing the tea to sit uneasily on his empty stomach. He knew where this was going, but also knew that it had to be talked about, especially since he’d been thinking it as well. And if he had been, then who knew how many others had? “You think there is someone on the inside working for the League.”

“It is a possibility that we cannot ignore,” Nezu replied.

Roy set the cup down on the table. “Are you asking for my input or interrogating me?”

“Would you be offended if it was the latter?”

Letting out another tired sigh, Roy shook his head. “I think it would be remiss  _ not _ to question me.” He frowned and looked down at his hands. He itched to put the gloves back on. Ever since starting here, he’d worn them less than ever before in an attempt to make himself less threatening. No one besides Riza really knew what the gloves were for exactly, except that they had to do with his quirk or were just a part of his costume. It made him feel off-kilter though. “I’m the only one at U.A., teachers and students alike, to have had known villain contacts, after all.”

It had to be said. It had to be brought up. It had to be done. Of course, that didn’t mean that Roy enjoyed this. It felt like he was being raked through the coals all over again.

“That is not to say that I don’t trust you,” Nezu told him. “I wouldn’t have given you this job if I didn’t.”

“You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?” Roy cracked dryly.

Nezu fixed him with a firm look. “Your refusal to believe that anyone trusts you is disheartening and I trust you realize that it is by your own hand.”

Roy was a grown man and he still felt as scalded as an eighteen year-old kid, so he nodded his head. Many years later, he could admit that the Incident hadn’t been entirely his fault, but after losing the trust of so many people, it had become hard for him to accept that he might still be able to earn it. That was partly why he still felt so awkward around All Might. If the hero truly knew what Roy was capable of with just a little push, would he still have such faith in him?

Deep insecurity did not mix well with blinding confidence. Both Roy and Bakugou could attest to that.

“So you don’t think I’m a mole?” Roy asked.

“Well, are you?” Nezu quipped. Roy gave him a deadpan look in response and Nezu chuckled, clearly entertained by Roy’s reaction. “I won’t lie and say that it wasn’t suggested.”

“Let me guess,” Roy sighed. “Yamada.”

Nezu shrugged his shoulders. “Well, the breach happened after you and Toshinori were hired when no villain has stepped foot inside UA before. No one is going to accuse Toshinori, especially since he’s the target, and then your history, which Yamada is aware of, doesn’t help.”

Roy winced. “He’s not my biggest supporter.”

“It was a lackluster suggestion though,” Nezu said. “Your interference at the USJ to save Toshinori and Midoriya is in direct conflict with it. If you were the mole, you could have waited a few seconds longer to jump in, thereby completing the League of Villains’ goal by eliminating All Might -- and none of us would have known the wiser. It would have looked like you arrived a second too late.” He smiled to himself. “I know for a fact that you’re clever enough to have known that, if you were a villain.”

“Maybe I’m playing the long game,” Roy countered. “Edging myself further into your good graces.”

But Nezu shook his head. “The end goal is Toshinori’s death and they would’ve had that if not for you.” He finished his tea, his smile pleased, and set the cup down. “You were so committed to your promise to yourself that you did not kill the villains you were so clearly furious with. No, you’re not the mole.”

“It will most likely be different the next time around,” Roy pointed out.

“Then so be it,” Nezu said, accepting the change already, “as long as you are at peace with it.”

He was, strangely enough. The vow that he’d made to never kill anyone, not even the worst villain, had been made when he was young, before he’d worked as a pro hero. And he had kept it even when he had to go to the most extreme lengths to take a villain down. Sometimes, it might have been more merciful to kill them, but at the end of the day, the Flame Alchemist was not known for mercy. He wasn’t known for being kind. His “no killing rule” made him out to be even more cruel.

It was laughable. Those villains didn’t know what cruel was.

“I must ask though, since you  _ are _ the only one that has former ties with villains,” Nezu continued fluidly. “Did you recognize any of them?”

“No, I didn’t,” Roy answered. “To be honest, I wasn’t around many of them. He, ah, kept me separate for the most part. To keep me in check, I suppose.” He cleared his throat, trying to dispel away the unpleasant memories. Foggy at best, but still not the kind he liked bringing up anymore. “You would’ve known if I had.” He grimaced at the mental picture. “It would not have been pleasant.”

“I thought as much,” Nezu sighed. “This is something new then. I fear the villains are evolving.”

Roy had had the same concern. Instead of targeting the heroes themselves, they’d gone after the students that would one day become heroes. It was what Makoto had done with Roy. Corrupt the innocent and turn them into weapons or destroy them altogether. It had very nearly done the trick. Although it hadn’t completely worked -- he was still a hero, after all -- irreparable damage had been done. If this League of Villains wanted to expand on that, the results could be disastrous. Students as villain targets meant a lot more work. And if there was a mole in the UA, it left them in an even more precarious situation.


	14. Persevering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot that I had this chapter written already. Wow, I'm smart. Anyways, it's time to introduce some other characters into the fold. That's right, ya'll. It's your boy, Ling!

The annual U.A. Sports Festival was on them with barely any time to recover from the USJ Incident. It hadn’t even been a week before Aizawa announced it to the class. Aizawa, who was still wrapped up in bandages like he was some sort of mummy. Ed didn’t like Mustang and he wasn’t fond of the man being their homeroom teacher too, but maybe Aizawa really did need to break to finish recuperating.

“It’s so normal!” the class exclaimed almost entirely at the same time.

Al was one of those students while Ed had stayed silent in his seat. Honestly, Ed didn’t know whether to be elated or concerned. The last time he had been excited about a school event, a bunch of villains had shown up trying to kill them and All Might. Surely the League of Villains wouldn’t try anything during the Festival though, seeing as how it would be jam pack with heroes who were doing scouting and security.

It seemed kind of crazy to Ed that they would do something as normal and open as the Sports Festival so soon after the USJ Incident, but as Aizawa explained, they could not allow the recent villain attack to hold them down or they would come off as weak. People might lose faith in them. After all, they were a school that was helping mold the future heroes that would protect the world from villains. If they got shook up over villains, then what was the point of the school?

The Sports Festival would at least give them their first opportunities to get their foot in the door that opened up to the world of heroes. The event was televised so that people from all over the world could watch and not just those in the packed to max capacity stands. Even though they were only first years, they would be judged just as heavily by many pro heroes and stacked up against their fellow classmates. It wouldn’t just be Class 1-A involved. It would be everybody.

Briefly, he wondered if Winry would be excited about the Festival. She had always loved watching it because it gave the support course a chance to shine and not just the hero course. Many top companies got their hooks in the support students and their tech by witnessing them in action during the Sports Festival. If Winry could use this as a chance to get her name out there, it would be really great for her. She could accomplish so much more quicker. 

From what she’d told him though, she had some tough competition in the support course. There was another girl in the support course that she was close friends with that was apparently a tech wizard. Ed had met Mei Hatsume a handful times and she had been incredibly intense both times. Luckily for him, Winry had not divulged the secret of his prosthetic limbs or Ed was certain that Hatsume would’ve practically been climbing on top of him to get a closer look at Winry’s work in action. Hatsume worked some incredible tech for a first year and, while they were close, it had Winry biting her nails.

Everyone wanted to be the number one in their own way.

It wasn’t just Class 1-A anymore, even if it sometimes felt like that to Ed with the way they were separated from everyone, especially since the USJ Incident. Al had been the one to point it out the other day during lunch when they were trying to find a place to sit. Whereas before Class 1-B and even the others didn’t mind them, whenever someone from Class 1-A walked nearby, it was like everyone turned their backs on them. When Winry had chosen to sit with them, her friends had scoffed at her like she was crazy when they’d never done that before.

People were stupid. It wasn’t like Ed’s class had asked to get attacked by villains. It wasn’t like they’d planned on it so that they could get better in combat faster. Ed knew that he would be putting his life on the line one day after he graduated from here, but he’d kind of thought that those scenarios would wait until he was either interning or he was out doing actual hero work, not while he was in class.

Everyone was naturally excited about the event. Not only did it give them the chance to be noticed by pro heroes and their agencies, but it also allowed them to have some fun again. They really needed it. Of course there was the underlining fact that everyone wanted to win and therefore friends would become competition, but right now, they weren’t thinking of that much, except for Bakugou, who considered everything including eating his lunch a competition.

Uraraka’s intensity caught Ed off guard. The normally bubbly girl was suddenly so fierce in her desire -- “Let’s do our best, everybody!” -- that Al began to laugh awkwardly as he agreed with her. It was only then when Ed began to realize that this Sports Festival was going to change a lot of things. Their quirks were going to be front and center. They wouldn’t be fighting each other for a grade. Even better, they’d be allowed to go all out.

Thoughtfully, Ed flexed the fingers of his prosthetic hand, testing the fluidity of them. As usual, they worked well. He couldn’t feel them (thank everything consider how many times he’d broken it while fighting), but it was as if his mind knew that his fingers were still in excellent shape. Besides Al, only Ojiro knew that his right arm was metal like his left leg. This Sports Festival would be a good time to bring it out, considering that it would catch everyone off guard like he’d done when he’d ripped his leg off and hit Kirishima with it.

After all, Uraraka was right: they should do their very best.

When the class let out to leave, they were all stopped short by the crowd of students hanging outside of their homeroom. Ed was slinging his backpack over his shoulder when Bakugou halted and they all gaped at the sight of the hallway filled to the brim. When Ed looked closer, he saw something else that took him aback: many of the kids were downright glaring at them.

“What the hell is their problem?” Ed grumbled to Al, fully intending on shoving his way through the crowd.

“I think…” Al bit his lip nervously. “I think they’re sizing up the competition.”

It was strange how facing kids their age was almost more daunting than facing villains, at least in the moment. Ed glowered as some purple-haired, exhausted asshole practically berated them in a flat tone. Who the hell did this guy think he was? The Sports Festival was an opportunity for students in other courses to jump into the hero course and knock other students out? He was declaring war?

Oh please. Ed couldn’t stand this already. This kid didn’t know what war was, not like Class 1-A did. It wasn’t their fault that villains had attacked their class at USJ. All they had done was fight back and survive. Now that had been something akin to war. Of course, their case wasn’t helped by Bakugou, who seemed determined to piss everyone else off, lumping the rest of them in with him.

“Don’t drag us into your shit!” Ed snapped as Bakugou did just as Ed had planned minutes ago. Bakugou didn’t listen to any of them and vanished into the crowd. Kirishima pat him on the back in understanding. “This is so stupid.”

Ed cut his way through the crowd, forming his own path, and Al followed. He had better things to do than deal with this idiots that thought they knew shit that they didn’t. At the end of the day, Class 1-A was a threat to anyone else in the Sports Festival, if only because they already had villain fighting experience under their belt. They knew what it was like to actually fight for their life and had seen firsthand how ruthless villains could be. It would be a long time before he got the sight of Aizawa being smashed into the ground out of his head.

“It is funny that you all don’t look like much,” a boy from outskirts of the crowd said as Ed popped out of it. This boy was leaning casually against the window, his black hair tied back in a ponytail, his eyes narrowed in a sharp gaze, and a cutting smile on his face. “Are you sure you’re old enough to be in high school? You’re so short.”

“I’m not even the shortest person in the class!” Ed fumed, fighting the urge to sock this kid right in the mug with his metal hand. “What’s your all’s damage anyways? We didn’t ask to be attacked.”

The boy laughed. “I don’t doubt that. Still, UA is more than just a school. It’s a competition. Most people might graduate from the hero course, but not everyone becomes a household name.” He examined Ed in a way that made him want to snarl, like he was something to pick apart. “Class 1-A got a head start. It’s rattled everyone, but especially almost everyone in Class 1-B. We’re on the same skill level, in the same hero course, but everyone will be paying more attention to you in the Festival.”

“Then they better do something really awesome to stand out if they want to do something instead of complain,” Ed shot back, not feeling a hint of sympathy. This kid was right after all. It was a competition in a way. The Sports Festival would allow pro heroes to get a look at their quirks, their strengths, and their weaknesses. It was the first time they would announce to the world who they were and what they were capable of. If they showed how strong they were now, everyone could only imagine how strong they would be by the time graduation rolled around.

“That’s why I said,” the boy replied goodnaturedly, “but it’s easier to talk big now compared than when the time actually comes.” He held out a hand. “Ling Yao, Class 1-B.”

Ed eyed the hand suspiciously, but then it was just a hand and he wasn’t like Bakugou. He had friends outside of their class and even took the time to get to know them. It was true that the two hero classes generally didn’t talk to one another, but that was probably a side effect of directly competing with each other. It was easier to get along with students in other courses.

So he took Yao’s hand and shook it. “Edward Elric.”

“Oh, I know who you are,” Yao said, taking his hand back and shoving it into his pocket. A grin popped onto his face. “I look forward to kicking your ass at the Festival.” Ed’s jaw dropped slightly, not expecting the sudden threat after what had started to turn into a friendly conversation, and he watched as Yao walked down the hallway to meet up with a dark-haired girl carrying a bunch of books. “See you later, shorty!”

“You asshole!” Ed shouted, but Yao just threw up a hand goodbye and laughed.

“Who was that?” Al asked, appearing out of the crowd. He had gone through it in a much slower more polite way. He could’ve just turned into his armored form and knocked everyone out of his way, but no, he was determined to be on pleasant terms with as many people as possible. Of course, when it came to the Sports Festival, he wouldn’t hesitate to knock any of these punks out, but all was fair in competition. “Making friends from Class B?”

Ed scowled.  “More like making talk with the competition.” The next time he saw that kid in the Sports Festival, he was going to stomp Yao into the ground. He was not about to let some jackass from Class 1-B get the best of him. “C’mon, let’s meet up with Midoriya and the others. We can talk strategy.”

Al smiled. “Already got your head focused on the Festival, huh?”

“Oh yeah.” Ed clenched his metal fist in front of him. “We’ve gotta kick ass and let the world know who we are.”

*

Roy collapsed on the couch in the teacher’s lounge, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. He did not want to go back to the agency after school was done with, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Riza deserved a break and he wanted to check in with the sidekicks besides. He prided himself on being very involved in their work and taking different ones out with him on patrols. Still didn’t make him less tired.

At least he was no longer teaching Aizawa’s class along with his own. He hadn’t minded to do it, especially after Aizawa had admitted to being the one to suggest Roy for the position. It didn’t fix the rift between them by a long shot, but it felt like the beginning of a burned bridge slowly being mended. Roy would take it.

“Do you remember our first Sports Festival?” Roy asked as he relaxed further into the couch.

“You won, didn’t you?” Aizawa responded from the table. How was he able to even grade the homework? Only his eyes were showing from all the bandages still wrapped around him. Was he not taking any of the painkillers that had been prescribed to him? Roy wouldn’t do it.

Kayama tossed her hair back as she sat down next to Roy on the couch. “Of course he did. He was such a little smug bastard for weeks afterwards. All those internship offers flooding in. Gods, he was terrible.”

Roy opened his eyes and lifted his head, shooting Kayama a grin. “Just because you came in fourth for your year doesn’t mean you get to be sour about my victory.”

She harrumphed, but didn’t say anything back to him. He had definitely been a little shit after winning the Sports Festival for Class 1. If he remembered correctly, Aizawa had got third, which had stunned a lot of people since he didn’t have a flashy quirk like many other students. So many of them relied on their quirk that they had underestimated him and not learned how to properly fight without it. Roy had been somewhat relieved that another student had knocked Aizawa out so that he wouldn’t be forced to face him.

“Besides, I couldn’t have been worse than Yamada,” Roy added.

“Hey, I was great!” Yamada exclaimed from where he was making tea. “People loved my commentary!”

“You were  _ so loud _ ,” Kayama complained. “No one could concentrate with all your shouting.”

Yamada shrugged his shoulders. “That was the point, wasn’t it? I had to throw everyone off their game.”

“It didn’t work too well, now did it?” Roy threw back at him. Yamada wasn’t pleased, but then he couldn’t argue about it, so he sipped his tea and probably contemplated blowing out Roy’s eardrums. Yamada had come in sixth place, having been beaten by Aizawa, and had been very sore about it. The Sports Festival did not care about friendships. It was both brilliant and terrible in that way.

The Sports Festival for their first year had been some of the best time of Roy’s life. It had been exhilarating. He could still remember the crowds, the hype, the glory. There was nothing quite like it. Seeing as how their class hadn’t been attacked by villains, it hadn’t been overshadowed by concern and all the students had been relatively on the same level. Roy had loved being able to fight to his heart’s content. His flames had made for an excellent show, catching the eyes of many pro heroes along the way. Sure, by the end of it, many of his fellow classmates had abhorred him because of his behavior, but he hadn’t cared.

It was also where things had started to go downhill, although he hadn’t known it at the time. Pro heroes hadn’t been the ones whose attention he had snagged. It came with the volatile nature of his quirk. Villains were bound to take notice of a kid with a powerful quirk like his, especially when it was obvious that kid had bad attitude. It was different from Bakugou’s undying rage. It had been much colder and sharper, the kind that could not be dulled.

By the time their second Sports Festival had arrived a year later, Roy had been different on the field. Much more ruthless. He didn’t get first the second time around, having been disqualified in the last round. It had not been one of his brighter days. It had been around that time that some of the adults in his life, including his foster mother, had suggested that he get counseling to help deal with the unresolved issues left over from his parents’ deaths that he’d clearly been ignoring for years.

Roy hadn’t competed in their third and final Sports Festival at all.

It took about five years after graduation before he watched them again and that was only because he’d moved back to the area. It had been easy to ignore them when he’d moved abroad. Other schools had their own festivals and events featuring their heroes-in-training to watch, although he hadn’t been big on them either. He had considered himself too young to have his own agency and had bounced around at first, mostly freelancing, until Riza had chosen an agency in China and he found himself there as well.

Home always called back to him though. There was nothing for him here and yet he had come back anyways. His aunt didn’t even live in this city anymore, owning a very nice establishment in the capital. She had questioned his decision to return, but had never told him it was a bad idea. They’d never had a sweet and comforting sort of relationship, but he’d known that loved him like a son in her own way and was pleased to see him return, if not wary about it.

(Sometimes, he thought that she blamed herself for not being more affectionate towards him when he was a kid, but that wasn’t it. He would have turned out the way he did regardless. The cracks inside of him had been there before her and there was nothing she could have done to prevent them from being shattered.)

Coincidentally, Roy had moved back to town a week before the Sports Festival. News of it had been all over the place, so it wasn’t like he could avoid it, and as a pro hero with the desire for his own agency and to rise in the ranks as much as he was allowed, he had to pay attention. Since then, he had watched it every year. Any lingering bitterness that he might’ve held towards it was long gone, but he’d never been excited about them either.

It was a great way for students to get their names out and for people to see their quirks in action, but he of all people knew that it was a double-edged sword. Luckily for him, Roy had never showcased his actual quirk in the public eye before. As far as everyone knew, he had a fire quirk. Riza had once asked him if he ever regretted not showing who he really was, but then, this was him. He could not imagine his life without fire now.

“What do you think they’ll be like this year?” Roy asked.

“It’s a surprise every year, although I will be aware of the games beforehand,” Kayama told him. Everyone in the room looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. She reveled under their gazes. “Nezu asked me to be the referee this year.”

Roy snorted. “Are you even appropriate for children, X-Rated Hero?”

Kayama gave him a Chesire grin that could’ve caused a regular man to have a nosebleed. “What better way to test the mettle of these students that to give them a distraction right from the start?”

“So cruel,” Roy said, shaking his head.

“I’m the announcer as well,” Yamada put in.

Aizawa sighed underneath his bandages, as if already not looking forward to hearing Yamada’s enthusiastic play-by-plays. Yamada and Roy shared a glance that was almost conspiratorial, something they hadn’t done since they were students and were in a good place with each other for once. Every now and then, their loud personalities had lined up like the planets and they were completely in sync. For a second, Roy seemed to get the picture that Yamada was going to do something that would really make Aizawa regret life, but then Yamada glanced away and the moment was gone as if it had never happened.

Roy pulled himself up, leaning forward on his knees. “Is it wrong to place bets on our students?”

“Incredibly so,” Aizawa deadpanned.

Yamada made a humming sound like he would consider it. Kayama laughed.

“It is something we should consider though,” Roy said. “More than likely, their standing at the end of the Festival will affect their hero training. It will put some of them in different mindsets.”

It had done it to them. Roy had been insufferable in class, but he had started pushing his quirk to the limit even more, trying to become stronger. Even Aizawa had begun to work on his acrobatics more after the Festival, recognizing his weak spots. They had made a good pair, although it put Aizawa in serious danger of getting burned to hell. Recovery Girl had not been happy with each other them for the few months after the Festival. Riza had also started to train more extensively with support course students after that, knowing that she would need their help if she wanted to develop her quirk further.

“I have my...concerns,” Aizawa finally admitted. When everyone merely watched him, he seemed to realize that they were waiting for him to continue, which he hadn’t planned on doing apparently. “How many bones is Midoriya going to break?”

“That sounds like a very bleak bet,” Yamada said.

“Also, if Todoroki doesn’t use his fire half, I think he’ll reach his limit,” Roy added thoughtfully. “I don’t think he’s yet come to terms with the fact that he has one.”

What with the way that Endeavor had trained him, Todoroki had probably never had to come close to reaching his limit in a fight before until UA. So far, with only using his ice side, he had not yet done it, but the Sports Festival was about going all out. There would be plenty of other students giving it their all that he would be forced to go up against and if he did not do the same there was a chance he would fall.

Maybe he needed that as much as Bakugou did though, just for a different reason. Roy hadn’t considered it, most likely because he didn’t want to do any harm to the kid, as loathe as he was to admit it. He wouldn’t say that he was going soft on Todoroki (because he didn’t understand that concept), but he knew that Riza was concerned about him. It couldn’t be helped. Sometimes, that kid looked so damn miserable and awkward behind that blank expression he usually wore that Roy didn’t know what to do with him.

“You know, I knew teaching would be difficult,” Roy stated, “but no one told me that I would care so much about these little punks.”

Kayama shot him a smile. “It’s a good thing we had teachers that did the same.”

Her words made Roy think of Nezu. Yes, yes, it was. If not for a teacher that cared, Roy wouldn’t be here right now, so he had to make sure that he did the same thing for his students.

*

Winry was jumping up and down in the common area of the dorms, buzzing with the sort of energy Ed associated with her whenever she used her quirk. She always got energetic when creating something, even if she tended to be exhausted afterwards. However, right now, she looked like nothing could bring her down. The second Ed and Al had stepped into the room, she had rushed over to them.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Ed asked as he collapsed on the couch.

“The Sports Festival!” Winry exclaimed. “It’s such a huge opportunity!”

Al sat down and began to pull his textbooks out of his backpack. “I didn’t think you were big on fights.”

Winry rolled her eyes. “The Festival isn’t just about that, dummy.” She put her hands on her hips. “It’s a chance for me to show my creations! Pro heroes and big corporations will be able to see what I can make.” She longingly gazed into the distance, her mind already somewhere in the future. “This is how I get my foot in the door.”

“Oh, so this is about money, huh?” Ed grinned at her, propping his feet up on the coffee table.

“No!” Winry insisted, her pinks turning pink. “It’s about recognition and helping heroes do their job.”

“And the big checks those big corporations hand out don’t hurt either,” Ed quipped.

Shooting him a glare, Winry huffed and folded her arms across her chest. While they were by no means poor, growing up in the country meant that they were as well off as others. Ed and Al had experienced poverty after their mother’s death, but she had left them enough to survive. U.A. was expensive, but they’d all managed to score scholarships and their little town had banded together to help as well.

Money wasn’t a bad motivator. It was a good livelihood. Ed knew that Winry was determined to do well so that she could take care of her grandmother, even if that old hag was still kicking and fierce. She didn’t want to get noticed just so she could get rich. In the end, her goal was to help people, both civilians and heroes alike, in the way that she had helped him. It was important that she get her name out so that she could do just that.

What Winry didn’t know was that Ed was planning on helping her out with that. After all, what better way to showcase the brilliance Winry was capable of than winning the Sports Festival using the arm and leg that she had created for him? Everyone was going to know that she was a miracle worker.

Letting herself relax, Winry sighed and sat down on the other side of the couch. “It’s still a bit nerve-wracking, competing for everyone to watch.”

“You’ll be great,” Al reassured her.

“It’s not just the students with flashy quirks that I’m worried about,” Winry said, wringing her hands in her lap. “You should see some of the equipment that Hatsume has come up with recently. They’re incredible! And she’s only a first year!”

Ed paled a little. “Oh, shit, I didn’t even think about her.”

For the most part, Ed liked Hatsume. She was a little weird, but her enthusiasm was contagious and she secretly had a wicked sense of humor. However, she was all sorts of intense, especially when it came to her “babies”. She liked to have people to test them out and Winry usually offered him up as a tester. His stomach was still reeling from trying out her jetpack. He’d ended up in a tree. Bakugou had seen the whole thing and still hadn’t let it go.

It would be interesting to see how the other classes stacked up against the students in the hero course. Ed couldn’t remember a time when a student from the hero course hadn’t won the entire Festival in the end. The business course students were usually knocked out in the first round, although there were also surprising upsets when it came to the support course and general studies students. They might not have made it through the practical hero course exam, but all it took was a clever use of a quirk to get ahead in this.

Just because he was confident in his quirk did not mean that Ed was going to underestimate anyone. If he was going to win, he needed to stay sharp and keep an eye out for everyone.

“I can’t believe we’re going to be in the Sports Festival after watching it every year,” Al said, always the optimist. It had been their favorite time of the year. Their television wasn’t that big and they got crappy service sometimes, but the two of them would sit as close as possible to the TV and watch the events with rapt attention. “It’s kind of surreal. We’re going to be on national television. People are going to watch  _ us _ !”

It was kind of weird, but Ed didn’t mind. If he was going to become a top pro hero, then he better get used to being in the spotlight.


	15. Ingenuity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sports Festival has begun and Ed must deal with the trifles of the Obstacle Race in the first round.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know! It's been absolute ages since I've updated this. I've got a ton of ideas, but I got stuck on the Sports Festival Arc since it involves a lot of action and will require some more changes to canon. However, once I started writing this chapter, it really began to flow and I had a ton of fun with it. Writing the obstacle course from Ed's POV really made me appreciate things even more. Don't worry; some of the other characters will show up soon.

The night before the Sports Festival, Ed found it difficult to sleep, but he somehow managed to go to bed. He had to be well-rested for tomorrow. Seeing as how the first two events were always different, there was no telling what the U.A. students would be put through. The first years always went on day one and this was one that was sure to be watched carefully. After Class 1-A had been attacked by villains at the USJ, they had become of some topic on the news and the public was very curious about the young students that had not only survived U.A.’s first villain attack but also come out looking like heroes already.

It was a lot of pressure that no one in the class seemed to be talking about whereas it was all Ed could think about.

The public would never know what it had been like. Ed had already tasted defeat when it came to his own quirk, but the attack had been the first time that someone else had showed him how limited he was. He was still young. There was still so much he needed to learn. His quirk not only needed to be stronger but more developed. Sure, he and Ojiro had seriously kicked some villain ass when they’d been pulled through the warp gate and tossed into the fire, but there had been nothing he could’ve done to save Midoriya from that Nomu.

That was what the leader of the villains had called that massive bird brain monster, according to Midoriya. To think that he had been so close to death multiple times and he was cheerfully gearing up for a fight at something as normal as the Sports Festival. It was crazy how U.A. worked. It was crazy. They’d nearly died two weeks ago -- they had witnessed one of All Might’s most wild villain fights up close and personal -- and now they were doing school stuff again. Even Aizawa was back, although he was wrapped up like a mummy. It almost didn’t feel real.

That was U.A. for you though, always keeping them on their toes. There wasn’t a moment’s rest when it came to being a hero, so it made sense that they didn’t get one while becoming one.

The day had finally come and Ed was buzzing with energy, struggling to stand still. Everyone was filled with a bundle of excitement and nerves after having sat in that waiting room for so long and then walking out into the stadium to an astounding applause. Ed’s mind was still spinning. At seemingly random, Todoroki had called out Midoriya, proclaiming that he would defeat him. It had silenced a lot of them. Instead of being intimidated though like one might’ve expected of him before, Midoriya accepted the challenge and declared that he was going to give it his all as well.

All of them had a fire lit inside of them that made them want to become heroes. Their reasons for different, but they were reasons all the same. Even one like Uraraka’s, who had surprised Ed and Al with her desire to become a hero for financial means. That was something they could understand, seeing as how they’d spent time scrapping on the poorer side after their mother’s passing until being stunned with an inheritance left behind.

For some reason though, it felt like that fire was even stronger in Midoriya. He burned bright with that desire to become a hero, reminding Ed of his own simple wish to save people. He had to be strong too. The Sports Festival wasn’t about making friends. It was about winning. He couldn’t let anything hold him back. He had to give it his all, no matter what.

Not to mention Bakugou’s proclamation that he was going to become number one, which infuriated all the other classes and painted a target on all of Class 1-A’s backs. Of course he would do something like that. Even worse, they could all tell that he didn’t care. He wasn’t doing it to be a smug bastard for once. Saying something like that meant turning it into reality. By telling thousands of people that, he would use everything in him to make it true.

They all had their strategies. The first one included getting through this obstacle course in a timely fashion.

Ed was crammed in between Asui and Al. Since they were only involved in their own class, it was easy to forget just how large this school was. Even with only the first years competing today, it was an insane amount and they would be whittled down until only one of them remained. Winry was in here somewhere. With all the students in one place, it had been impossible to find her. As they went through the course, there was a chance that he would see her, but that wasn’t the point. More than likely, he’d lose track of Al as well. This wasn’t a team event.

As soon as the buzzer went off, utter chaos rained down on them. Only so many of them could cram into the tunnel that started the race. It was a funneling point that had everyone jostling with each other, much like what had happened when the reporters had somehow got on campus and caused a lockdown. It was impossible to actually run with people shoving left and right, trying to push their way ahead.

Somewhere a little ahead of him, Al transformed into his armor form, knocking other students away. Because he was so large though, he was able to blaze a trail through the crowd. It wasn’t friendly in the slightest and Ed could hear his brother’s panicked but determined voice, “Sorry! Sorry!” It would’ve been laughable if Ed wasn’t stuck himself. Asui had been able to use her tongue and leap over everyone, leaving him with some students from Class B, which was the second to last place he wanted to be right now.

“Screw this!” Ed grumbled. He started pushing his way sideways through the crowd instead of attempting to go forward until he hit the wall of the tunnel. There was less fighting that way. When he felt the wall, he grinned to himself. Just as he’d hoped, it was concrete with metal overlaying for aesthetics’ purposes. He’d take it. Using his quirk, he was able to create handholds in the wall and lifted himself up until he was a head over everyone.

Before someone could piggyback on his idea though, he made a few more to his right and then carefully leaned down and over to smooth out the metal. It took some time, but it left him alone above the rest of them. It wasn’t nearly as fast as running, but instead of fighting the crowd, he shifted along the wall beside them, creating hand and footholds just out of reach of everyone else. He ended up making it out of the tunnel before Al and a few of his classmates, jumping onto the ground with a solid thump and into the light.

Without warning though, a river of ice rushed toward all of them. “Todoroki, shit!” Ed didn’t have time to get out of the way. All he could do was lift his right foot as his left was encased in the ice. A lot of the other students were stuck in the ice as well and many of them blocked in the tunnel. It wouldn’t take too long for some of them to break out of it, but it would give Todoroki even more of a lead than before. Ed was frustrated to see that the rest of Class 1-A was able to dodge it, even Al, who was able to break free in his armored form.

No matter. Ed leaned down and lifted up his pants leg, revealing his metal limb. It was no secret to anyone in his class. He’d have to sacrifice some of the students outside of it knowing about it now, but that still left his right arm a secret. Pressing a hand to his leg, he transformed it so that the metal pieces that made up his foot and ankle were small and he easily slid his foot out of the shoe stuck in the ice. He transformed his leg back to normal and then started off in an awkward skate on the ice.

The great thing about his quirk was that he was able to use it on himself and not damage the integrity of Winry’s work. It really was something special. Besides, he didn’t need his shoe. It wasn’t like he was running barefoot. It was made of metal; he couldn’t feel it.

Without warning, Ed had to dive out of the way when one of the smaller villain robots dropped in out of nowhere and took a swipe at him. He rolled back onto his feet in a crouch, one hand on the ground propping him up. There were a few surprised shouts from students that didn’t take the hero entrance exam. Ed, on the other hand, grinned. Oh yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake.

Instead of running away, Ed ran right for the robot and slid underneath it, running his hand down the underbelly. As he did, metal sparked under his fingertips until he was back upright and holding a thick, long metal pole made from the robot itself. He stabbed it right where the main computer was, completely frying it. He chuckled and then went on his way, keeping the metal pole. It would come in handy to keep a weapon on him, just in case. However, he came to a screeching halt when faced with the next stage.

“Holy shit,” Ed swore under his breath, stuck still in a group of other students who were shaken up by what was in front of them.

A huge line of zero point robots.

“This was what they were up against in the hero entrance exam?” one General Studies student exclaimed in horror.

No, this was what they had ran away from, all of them except for Midoriya, who had faced one head on and destroyed it with one punch.

In a display that had everyone gasping, Todoroki ran straight at the line of massive robots and practically threw a wall of ice that froze them on the spot. It was such an insane amount of power that Ed couldn’t help but stare in shock. Making matters worse, the frozen robots began to break and fall apart, knocking people down and keeping others away. It was pandemonium. Students were screaming and unable to push through.

How the hell had Todoroki developed his quirk so much at this point? Had he been training every day since his quirk had appeared? He knew that Todoroki had been able to stop multiple villains on his own and even the nomu for a short period of time, but this was crazy.

Ed shook his head.  _ What am I thinking? That I’m too weak to do this? Get your head in the game! _

He had to give this his all. He wasn’t going to be able to do that by doubting himself.

Already some of the other students had snapped out of it. Bakugou used his explosions to launch himself over the robots, inspiring Sero to do the same with his tape and Tokoyami with his Dark Shadow. As huge and terrifying as they were, they weren’t impossible to get around. It didn’t always take raw power to get where you needed to go; sometimes all you needed was to be clever. Ed had lived his entire life by being smart so far. There was no way that he could use his quirk on the entire zero point robot, not like the other smaller ones from earlier. He didn’t have to use it on the whole robot though.

Breaking into a sprint, Ed ran for the line of robots, just barely dodging one of the arms from swatting him like a fly. Transforming the metal pole into a polished flat surface, he threw it on the ground and jumped on it, using his momentum to slide at the feet. He slapped the metal, putting all his concentration into it, and watched as it turned into something unstable that the robot couldn’t roll on. Unable to balance, the robot began to tip sideways, crashing into another just as a few more were struck by a cannon that Momo had managed to create. Its attention no longer focused on Ed, he turned the metal surface he’d slid on back into a pole and booked it to the next stage of the obstacle course.

Hell yeah he was doing this!

Ed was busy looking around while running to see who else had made it past the robots that he almost didn’t see the next part. He caught it at the last second, skidding to a halt and stopping at the edge of the cliff. He stared over the edge, watching a few rocks tumble down. Who knew if he would’ve survived a fall like that? When he looked back up, he saw that Todoroki was close to crossing the canyon. Ed growled in frustration.

It didn’t feel nice being one step behind. Even worse, this worked against him. He had to cross either by a rope or somehow hop from rock to rock. His metal leg and arm weren’t super heavy, but they weighed more than average limbs. Lighter people would be at an advantage here. Al was not going to like this part of the obstacle course at all. Using his quirk would only hinder him. Where as he anyways?

“Hey, Ed!” When he turned around, he saw Winry jogging up to him. Unlike him, who was stuck only wearing his athletic uniform, she was wearing an assortment of equipment and machines that she’d created using her quirk to aid her in the obstacle course.

“What’s all that?” Ed asked, pointing at her.

Winry grinned and waved a hand down herself. “You like? The support course is able to use whatever we’ve made during all the rounds of the Sports Festival.” He supposed that made sense. A lot of them were in that course because of their quirks. It evened the playing field for the hero course students who were used to using their quirks often. “This is nothing though. You should see Hatsume. She--”

The sound of an engine or maybe a small rocket cut Winry off. Ed turned around just in time to get hit by a gust of wind and dirt as the girl in question, Hatsume, blasted past him and some other students. She practically flew in the air, using her support gear to latch a cable onto one of the rock pillars and pull herself up. It was like she was slinging from pillar to pillar, aided by the jets in her boots.

“How much--?” Ed coughed into his arm. “How much equipment did she bring?”

“A lot,” Winry confirmed. “The Sports Festival isn’t just about showing off your quirks, remember? We support course students have to get seen too.” Oh yeah, she’d told him about that. The Festival allowed support students to show off their equipment to big businesses. “Speaking of which…” She pulled out a wire and attached it to one of the cables, testing its strength by pulling on it. “I’ve gotta go!”

When Winry dropped off the edge of the cliff, Ed started and ran forward. “Oi!” But of course she was fine. The attachment had tightened around the cable and sliding her on it until she reached a pillar and pulled herself on top, detatching it and then putting it on the next one. Before dropping off again, she turned to wave at Ed. He knew better than to underestimate students in another class, but it still peeved him to be behind like this.

The first pillars were far away from the cliff, but he could work around that. Transforming the metal pole again, he did something different this time. He formed it into a circle, but with an opening so that it wasn’t a full circle and a flat part on half of it, kind of like a swing seat. Instead of sitting on it though, he pulled it over his head and rested the flat side against his back. Crawling onto a cable and dangling on it was awkward, but he hooked his legs over it and held onto it with his right hand. With his left, he guided the metal hoop over the cable and then changed the metal to fuse both sides of the circle together. Once that was complete, he undid his legs and put his full weight on the backrest he’d created.

Now he could pull himself on the wire quickly. It barely took any effort from him. Was it the fastest way to get through the Fall? No way, not when Iida was using his engines to cross the cables, albiet awkwardly, or Asui whose frog quirk allowed her to hop and easily transverse the cables and pillars. Still, it was better than nothing and, despite the steps, didn’t take much time. Maybe it wasn’t flashy, but he wasn’t stuck either.

Near the end, the pillars were closer and Ed opted for a different approach. He transformed the metal back into a pole and used it to vault himself from one pillar to the next. This was much quicker. All he had to do was run, plant one end of the pole into the dirt, and then launch himself to the next pillar until finally he’d reached the other side of the canyon. There were still plenty of students behind him, including Al and Midoriya, who were struggling to cross the canyon without the use of their quirk.

_ Not bad for a boy from the country missing two of his limbs,  _ Ed thought to himself as he started for the last part of the obstacle course.

Which of course had to be a freaking landmine field. U.A. sure did like to end things on a bang.

“Oh, come on!” Ed groaned out loud, slapping a hand to his forehead.

With Todoroki and Bakugou fighting ahead of them for first place, ice and explosions working against each other, there wasn’t time to hesitate. Sure, Ed didn’t want to get exploded to high hell, but he had no choice but to walk ahead. Even worse, the only thing he could do was traipse carefully and try not to trigger a landmine. It was slow work, but every time a student stepped on a landmine, pink and purple smoke burst into the air while the student was thrown off the ground. It made Ed step faster even as his brain warned him to go slower. He also abandoned the metal pole. He’d considered using it to feel the ground ahead of him, but he didn’t want a landmine to blow up right in his face.

Shit, shit, shit. It didn’t look like an individual landmine did much damage, so his leg would most likely be fine. Either one of them, he supposed. He still didn’t like the idea of walking on top of bombs. Someone triggered a landmine next to him and were blown sideways, forcing Ed to duck so that the student didn’t collide with him. Instead, they hit someone from Class B and they both fell on another landmine, starting the process all over again, a chain reaction of explosions that took out other students as it went. It was a mess.

_ I’ve gotta move faster or I’ll get caught up in this,  _ Ed told himself.

There was an inherent danger in that strategy. He wouldn’t be able to examine the ground as carefully if he moved through the field faster. Students were getting knocked out like flies though. It wasn’t just one explosion. If a landmine was triggered, another one went off soon after. Gritting his teeth, he started to move faster, choosing to go for areas where landmines had already blown up and then hoping for the best the rest of the way. All he had to do was make sure that he didn’t blow up and he’d make it. He could do this. He had this. He--

**BOOM!**

Ed almost jumped out of his skin. The explosion behind him had been louder than one of Bakugou’s. He jerked around to see a massive cloud. It was way bigger than the smoke clouds caused by a single landmine. This one looked like a handful of landmines had been detonated at the same time. Then, as if that wasn’t shocking enough, a shadow appeared from within the smoke and was launched into the air. Except it wasn’t a shadow. It was a person.

“What the hell are you thinking, Midoriya?” Ed shouted, although he doubted that his classmate could hear much of anything after generating an explosion that huge. He was sailing through the air on what looked like a side panel from one of the smaller robots in the beginning of the obstacle course. He must’ve had a similar idea as Ed, except he couldn’t transform metal. Somehow, Midoriya had managed to trigger a bunch of landmines and used the panel as a shield to launch himself ahead of everyone else. He cut over everyone, even Todoroki and Bakugou, who stared in a mixture of disbelief and confusion as he took first place.

Midoriya’s actions caused absolute mayhem. Everyone was rushing now. Ed hopped through the course as fast as he could, becoming much more reckless, and gawked as Midoriya used Todoroki’s and Bakugou’s backs as leverage to slam the metal panel on the ground and set off even more landmines, propelling himself even further ahead of them.

_ You clever, crazy kid! _ Ed couldn’t help but think.

It was an ingenious move, but absolutely wild. Just the sort of thing to happen at UA. The smoke from the second large explosion forced everyone behind the three to stop unless they wanted to blindly step on a landmine. It was a painful game of stop-and-go, but the second visibility was sort of back, Ed was at it again. He knew that he wouldn’t place in the top five, maybe not even ten, but he’d make it through to the next round. He wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

With sweat dripping down his face in concentration on top of the heat and effort he’d done so far, Ed was finally able to clear the landmine field of doom without blowing anything up. He pumped a fist in excitement and then ran as hard as he could. Al should be proud. Normally he got through his obstacles by plowing through things head-on and being stubborn about it to the point where things blowing up was normal.

As he went through the tunnel, Ed could already hear the crowd cheering, specifically for Midoriya. Present Mic’s excited voice over mixed in with the roar of the crowd, along with blood pumping loudly in his ears. In the dark, he managed to pass someone up, the sound of his shoe and metal foot echoing around him.

By the time he reached the end of the tunnel, he was panting, but light exploded around him and Present Mic screamed, “Edward Elric of Class 1-A for twelfth place!”

Having the entire focus of the crowd was enough to take his breath away. Ed leaped around, the momentum filling up his adrenaline and causing his heart to beat like it might explode. When Present Mic announced the next person to cross the finish line, Ed leaned over and put his hands on his knees for a moment, regaining his strength, before straightening up and putting his hands on the back of his head, sucking in air.

“Hey, nice going on passing me up in there!” the kid that came right after him cheered. He was from Class B, a boy wearing a blue and black bandana. Ed nodded his head, still trying to catch his breath. The boy waved a hand at Ed’s metal foot. “Especially with that. Man, you’ve got some endurance. You were booking it!”

“You too,” Ed replied, dropping one hand from behind his head to shake the other hero course student’s hand. As more students ran in, the Class B kid wandered off to congratulate his other classmates while Ed sought out Midoriya, who was predictably in tears from his win, and Iida, who had come in sixth. With a brief burst of energy, Ed ran over to him and picked Midoriya up. “You did it, you crazy bastard! You came in first place!”

Midoriya laughed hysterically and raised his hands in triumph. When Ed dropped him back down, the two boys bumped fists. “I can’t believe it, to be honest. I used to watch this on TV every year and now I’ve won the first round. This is wild!”

“I almost pissed myself when you triggered that explosion!” Ed laughed, punching him lightly in the arm. “What the hell did you do?”

“Dug up a bunch of landmines, put them in a pile, and jumped on it,” Midoriya told him.

Ed ogled him for a moment before laughing. “That’s either brilliant or mad. Either way, you won!”

He cast a glance over to Bakugou, who was so fired up and read in the face that he currently looked like he was blowing a gasket. The blonde was having an absolute meltdown over the fact that not only had Midoriya beat him, but he had come in third place after Todoroki, who looked either dazed and mildly peeved. It was hard to tell with Todoroki unlike Bakugou, whose feelings could be spotted a mile away.

Winry made it into the arena before Al, coming in at twenty-eighth place. She was red in the face and strands of her hair had come out of her ponytail. Ed almost rushed over to pick her up too, but he skidded to a halt and stopped himself at the last second. Adrenaline made people do some crazy things. However, Ed had just started to greet, “Congrat--” when Winry threw her arms around his neck and practically collapsed against him. He almost toppled over, but grabbed her to keep her from falling and kept himself on his feet.

“I’ve never ran so much in my life!” Winry exclaimed, feeling like a sack of potatoes in his hands.

Ed’s face had warmed considerably, but he didn’t shove her away. “That’s the point of an obstacle course.”

“I should’ve created a robot that acted like skates,” Winry said, slowly peeling herself off of him. He jerked his hands away from her the moment she was fully on her feet, not that she noticed. She wiped some sweat off her face, making her bangs stick awkwardly on her even more. “I don’t know why I didn’t consider an obstacle course being the first round. It makes sense -- really thins out the pack.”

Wasn’t that the truth? Whereas in the beginning they’d been crammed together like sardines in a can, now students were slowly trickling into the arena. It was a huge difference.

“Alphonse Elric!” Present Mic announced. His brother had come in thirty-second place. He didn’t look super happy about it, but at least it meant that he would advance to the next round.

“You two did great!” Al shouted as he jogged over to them.

Ed held out a fist and Al connected it with his. “Not so bad yourself.”

Al smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “The Fall really put me behind. I would’ve been here much earlier if not for that. I thought I was really screwed.”

“Did you set off any explosions on the landmine field?” Winry asked. “I almost did. I was so scared that I didn’t move for ten seconds at least!”

“Um, I set off a few,” Al admitted, his cheeks either pink from running or embarrassment. “I knew I was behind, so I just turned into my armored form and walked through it.”

Ed snorted and smacked his brother on the back. “Usually I’m the one that leaves behind a mess.”

“Well, Midoriya beat us all this time,” Al replied. “I was at the end of the Fall when I saw that explosion.”

“Trust me, it was even wilder up close,” Ed said. “We did it though. We all did it!”

He clenched his hands into fists and pumped them again. He knew in a minute that the exhaustion of his body would catch up with the adrenaline running through his mind, but for now, he didn’t care. Man, he was so exhilarated! They used to go crazy when they watched the Festival at home, but now they were in it. There were two more rounds to go, the second of which was a mystery, but they were in it together and Ed had never felt more alive than ever before.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had been struggling on this chapter for a long time - well, really with the Sports Festival in general. The next chapter is going to take a brief pause for some drama. The cavalry battle was the part that I didn't know what to do for a while. With some help, I was able to figure some things out and shift things around. I wouldn't say that this is my strongest chapter, if I'm being honest, and I don't know if I like it, but it's got a familiar face returning and I enjoyed writing him a lot.

The cavalry battle threw Ed for a loop. Coming up with a team on the fly was difficult. He would be the first one to admit that he wasn’t much of a team player sometimes, but at least he was better than Bakugou. It made sense to do a team event after the culling of the the race. Everyone liked watching them. It was fun to see students combine their quirks in unique ways. Besides, the last event would be a one versus one fight as it was every year. It would be everyone for themselves again. Ed was a little peeved by how few points twelfth place got him, but at least it wouldn’t put a target on his back.

The same could not be said for Midoriya, who had paled upon Midnight’s revelation about how many points he would start off with. One thing was for certain: Ed did not envy his friend right now. Placing number one in the first event had been great until he was given that ten million bandana and nearly everyone turned on him. Even Ed looked at him sideways and wondered if he’d be able to snag it away, but then decided collecting points from the teams distracted by their focus on Midoriya would be a better strategy.

Ed placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder. “It was nice knowing you.”

Midoriya managed a weak smile, understanding of Ed’s decision to find other people to partner up with. “Thanks.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want Midoriya to go through to the next round (he did), but he was going to stay as far away from him as possible. Let Todoroki and Bakugou hunt him down. He had other fish to fry.

Even though it was expected of him, Ed’s first thought was to find Al. In his armored form, he’d be the perfect horse part of the cavalry team. However, when he turned around, his brother wasn’t there. Ed stopped and furrowed his brow, lips pressed together in a frown. Where had he gone? He’d been right beside him just seconds ago. After searching the crowd for another minute, he spotted the back of his younger brother’s head.

Ed shook his head and walked toward him, muttering, “There you are-” and coming to halt when he realized that his brother was talking to someone. His mouth dropped when he recognized the purple hair and the dark bags under the other boy’s eyes. It was that kid from General Studies that had called them out the day students had barred them from their classroom in order to size them up. Shinsou, wasn’t it? He was an ass. Why the hell was Al talking to him? Ed didn’t even know the guy’s quirk.

“Hey!”

Winry’s voice jerked Ed out of his thoughts. He snapped his mouth shut and turned around. Winry was waving at him as she head in his direction. She served as a good distraction from his failure to recruit his own brother for his team. Whatever. If Al wanted to be on Shinsou’s team, that was his prerogative. It wasn’t like they had to work together all the time. Still, it would’ve been nice if he had said something first instead of just walking off, like Ed had done with Midoriya. Disappearing and joining some random kid’s team without saying anything was kind of rude. He wasn’t used to Al acting like that.

“Found a team yet?” Ed asked.

“Yeah, I’m looking at one of them,” Winry quipped.

“Oh.” Ed slapped a hand over his face. “Oh, right!”

“I know how your limbs work and you know how my support equipment the best out of everyone, so it makes sense for us to join up.” Winry looked at him very seriously and added, “Besides, you’d make a perfect horse.”

“What?” Ed exclaimed, his voice way more high pitch than he would’ve liked. “No, no, I should be the rider.”

The smirk on Winry’s face was not pleasant at all or the way she put her hands on her hips. “And why is that?”

“Because I’m-” Ed cut himself off and went silent. Winry continued to smirk and raised her eyebrows as if to say she was waiting on him to explain himself. The problem was that he couldn’t. There was no way he could continue without ruining his dignity. Not that he had much to hold onto after nearly admitting that he was short for his age, but saying it out loud was a confirmation that he couldn’t handle. In the end, he clamped his mouth shut and refused to say anything else.

“I’ll be the person on top,” a regretfully familiar voice declared from behind.

Ed spun around, coming face-to-face with the Class 1-B boy that had mocked him the day the Sports Festival had been announced. As if dealing with Shinsou calling them out hadn’t been enough, Ed had been forced to deal with Ling Yao as well. He looked just as smug now as he did then, his arms casually folded across his chest. The last thing Ed wanted to do was team up with some asshole like him, but when he looked around, he realized that most people had already paired up. Only Midoriya and Mineta seemed to be having difficulty securing a full team.

“What makes you so qualified?” Ed demanded.

“My acrobatic skills?” Ling offered.

“Those should’ve come in handy during the last event,” Ed pointed out. “Why did you come nearly in last?”

Ling shrugged his shoulders. “Class B came up with a plan to stick behind in the first event so that we could come out on top during the second after letting Class A duke it out.”

His upfront answer caught Ed off guard, leaving both him and Winry to gawk at him. He’d expected something vague, a lie, or a smartass remark, not the truth. It did make sense though. Nearly everyone in Class A was now focused on Midoriya with his million point bandana. There was also Todoroki and Bakugou to consider since they had come in third and also had a large amount of points. This was anyone’s game, but very few people were taking Class B into account. When Ed had thought about who he’d wanted on his team, he hadn’t even considered anyone outside of Class 1-A, not even Winry. It was kind of stupid now that he thought about it.

“I’m not being your horse,” Ed insisted stubbornly. Like hell he was going to carry Ling around like he was some sort of emperor.

Ling didn’t break a sweat as he shot back, “You just want to be the rider so you can feel tall.”

Ed exploded. “That’s not-”

Winry jumped in between them. “Boys, stop it!” Ed reared back while Ling didn’t move at all. He hadn’t even when Ed had launched himself at him. What a smug bastard. He was worse than Bakugou. “We need a fourth person. I’m the lightest, but my support equipment will be better used if I’m a carrier.”

“I’ve got someone,” Ling said. Ed had expected to see the dark-haired girl that Ling had been with the other day, but instead it was a short, chubby boy from Class B. He looked quite anxious at having been drawn in whatever spat Ling and Ed were involved in, but eager to help out. “This is Nirengeki Shoda. He’s in Class 1-B with me.”

Well that solved one problem, but Ed still didn’t like it. He could no longer rely on him being the shortest as the reason that he should be on top since Shoda was a few inches shorter than him. Even worse, despite the fact that Shoda was rounder than him, Ed could proclaim to be the lightest and Winry knew that. His metal arm and leg were made of the lightest metal she could find, but it still meant that his limbs were heavier than the average person’s. Ling was probably lighter than him despite being taller. He couldn’t possibly know that since he hadn’t seen Ed rip his leg off to beat Kirishima or block a rock thrown by a villain with his arm, but it didn’t matter.

Ed knew and it made him hesitate.

“So what’s it gonna be?” Ling asked.

“Fine,” Ed ground out. “I’ll be the horse. Winry and Shoda can be the back two.”

“And I’m the rider,” Ling finished triumphantly.

Ed waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, you’re the rider. Whatever.” He pointed a gloved accusing finger at the other boy. “You better have more up your sleeve than gymnastics. What’s your quirk anyway?”

“It’s, ah, similar to a hardening quirk,” Ling explained in a way that somehow told them nothing.

Nonetheless Ed rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Great, another one.”

As if they didn’t have enough. Kirishima’s hardening quirk was extremely impressive, but then Ed had seen Tetsutetsu Testsutetsu real steel quirk and realized that they were extraordinarily similar. Had they simply been put in Class A and B at random after they both passed the hero exam to enter UA? With a quirk like that, Ling would’ve made a much better horse than Ed, but if he was more limber and fragile, then he would be better served on top. Ed could admit that.

“It’s a little different than that, but hard to explain,” Ling told him. “Just know that you can count on us. No one is going to be able to steal our points.”

“They better not,” Ed grumbled under his breath. He didn’t like joining with a member of Class B at all, but Winry didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Granted, that was because she as in the Support Course and didn’t suffer from a rivalry with another class. She was happy to work with anyone. Ed did notice upon looking around that he had the most diverse team on the field. Everyone else had more or less stuck with their classmates, except for Al, Ojiro, and Aoyama, all three of whom had paired up with Shinsou from General Studies.

This was certainly going to be interesting.

“You’re not heavy, are you?” Ed questioned.

Ling grinned. “I did eat a big lunch, so that’s unfortunate for you.”

Once the teams got in their positions on the field, they got in formation with only seconds to spare before the event started. With Shoda and Winry in the back, Ling clambered up on their hands and then Ed moved to the front. Even though he looked fairly solid and was tall, it turned out that Ling wasn’t that heavy. It must’ve had something to do with two other people shouldering his weight, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d anticipated. Ling didn’t make a show of being on their shoulders, choosing to remain still once he got into place.

“So what’s the plan?” Ling asked from his position above them as chaos exploded around them. “Should we go after the ten million?”

Ed shook his head and pointed out, “Almost everyone’s doing that.” Already at least half the teams were chasing after Midoriya’s team, who chose to run instead of fight. It was a solid choice considering how long he had to hold onto that bandana. “Plus, I do not want to get in the middle of Todoroki and Bakugou.”

“Scared you can’t stack up next to them?” Ling asked, tapping him on the head.

“Do you want those two on your ass?” Ed retorted, reaching up to smack Ling’s hand away.

The other boy pulled his hand back before Ed could hit him and chuckled. “Not particularly. We can let take each other out. If given the opportunity, we should take it, but I think avoiding that fight can benefit us.”

“So we stack up on smaller points?” Winry surmised.

“It’s a bit like what Class B did in the first event,” Shoda concurred. “We come up from behind.”

Ling clenched his hand into a decisive fist and proclaimed, “I want to be swimming in bandanas.”

“Let’s not get too greedy,” Shoda suggested.

“What’s the point then?” Ling laughed. “We need as many points as we can get if we want to progress to the next round. We can’t be hesitant or content with our total points until the very end.”

The fight was on. Across the field, Ed saw Al’s team at work. He was in front as the horse, just like him, but in his fully armored form. Shinsou was on top as the rider with Ojiro and Aoyama in the back. Irritation flashed in Ed as he watched them run to attack another lower point team. It looked like they had the same strategy as them. Let everyone else fight over that ten million and work their way into the final event another way. They might not have the highest score, but they’d be on the board.

“Hey, focus!” Ling reprimanded, bonking Ed on the head.

“Would you stop that?” Ed snapped as he slid to a halt before they could stumble right in the middle of a fight between a Class B team and Shoji’s team. That would’ve been bad. “I’m not an actual horse.”

“I need you in the game,” Ling countered firmly. “Not being all moody because your brother picked to team up with someone else.”

Ed wanted to snarl, but knew that Ling was right. He’d been so focused on his brother in the first few minutes that he hadn’t even been paying attention to where he was going. That was very stupid to do when he was in the front as their first line of defense. They didn’t have any air support like Midoriya’s team or even Bakugou’s, so they would have to get creative on the ground.

After surveying the area, Ed pointed at Hagakure’s team. “Let’s start this for real.” No more running around. If they were going to get points, they would have to fight. After that, holding onto them would become a problem. In twelfth place, Ed didn’t have a ton of points, but he had the highest amount on their team. If someone attacked them, they’d go for him first most likely.

Using the skates that Winry had come up with, they were able to rush around the field a lot faster than other people relying on simply running. She’d made them pretty quickly though so they had to be careful. If Ed became too distracted, an errant thought could send them crashing to the ground, which meant that Winry controlled all three pairs. Even though he was used to her quirk, having it used on him for his prosthetics, she was much better at it and was able to keep them on track much better than if they were to use them separately on their own. She directed where they went, but it left it open for attack too with all her concentration on that aspect.

Seeing as how transforming his leg would make it more difficult on them, Ed had been anxious about not being able to use his quirk to its full potential without revealing his arm, but Winry had supplied him with some extra metal. As they shot across the field, Ed held out his hand and transformed the metal into a shiny baseball bat. It was more than a little blunt, but any weapon would do the trick. He did sort of feel bad about going after someone in Class A, but well, this was a competition. No hard feelings, right? They might not think that when he went after them with a bat.

So focused on trying to attack Midoriya, a lot of the other teams were distracted. Skating around the arena like they were on ice, Ed’s team was able to advance on Hagakure’s team from the side. He tossed the bat up for Ling, who spun it in his hands deftly. Ed would’ve preferred to attack himself, but it was difficult to skate and hold onto him with only one hand. Koda spotted them first, startling and making a noise when Ling took aim like he was about to go for a homerun. His sudden rearing back forced the others to quit their attack as they staggered, Jirou tripping over her feet and almost dropping Hagakure.

“Watch out!” Jirou shouted right as Ling swung.

Hagakure dropped at the last second, the bat sailing over her head harmlessly.

“Oi!” Ed yelled as Winry forced the skates to skid so she could turn them back around. He couldn’t believe Ling had aimed for her head. What was he thinking? Was he mad? “Don’t kill anybody!”

“They aren’t going to take us seriously if we don’t use our all,” Ling pointed out. “Again!”

Even though Winry was clearly hesitant, she advanced them forward on the skates, slow at first until she felt more decisive and then she picked up the speed. This time, Ling was forced to use the bat to defend himself, repeatedly knocking aside Jirou’s earjacks like flies. One of them flew around the bat and nearly struck him in the face, but he jerked to the left hard, nearly making them drop him. 

“Around!” Ling shouted. Doing as she was told, Winry directed the skates so that they swept around Hagakure’s team in a wide circle. At the speed they were doing, it nearly toppled them over and they all had to hold tightly onto Ling to keep from falling. One of Shoda’s feet came off the ground, making them wobble further. Ling dropped the end of the bat into Ed’s field of vision. “A hook now!”

Ed wasn’t sure exactly what Ling wanted, but he didn’t have any time to consider. He let go of Ling, leaving him to dangle peariously, and wrapped his fingers around the bat. It changed from the solid end of a bat into a thin hook. He almost dropped Ling in the process, pulling away to catch him at the last second, while he leaned forward and stretched out the improvised pole and hook. Ed watched in amazement as Ling hooked it underneath Hagakure’s band despite their speed and angle with absolute grace and pulled it right off. He loosened his grip so that the pole slid down and he held it in the middle, snatching the headband and spinning the pole in his hand like a baton.

Ling spun the band around a finger. “Thank you for your donation.”

“Elric!” Hagakure cried out.

“Alright, let’s keep up the momentum!” Ed exclaimed as they skated away. The others teams were scrambling as Midoriya’s team used a combination of Uraraka’s zero gravity quirk and Hatsume’s support gear to fly away and evade being attacked on the ground.  He expected no less of Midoriya, whose clever and quick thinking skills would be the only way they’d hang onto those ten million points.

Shoda wiggled in an attempt to getting a better hold on Ling, who was perched on them at a dangerous angle at this point. “Where to next? Should we attempt to keep the points we have and avoid fighting?”

“No, I want more,” Ling said as his eyes scanned the field. Greedy bastard. He was going to start sounding like Bakugou if he wasn’t careful. “Besides, we can’t guarantee that this amount of points will get us through the next round. We can’t get too comfortable.”

As much as Ed didn’t like agreeing with him, Ling had a point. They had a good amount of points with the two bandanas combined, but that wasn’t an automatic pass into the next round. Not counting the ten million points that Midoriya was fighting to keep, three other teams could wrack up enough points to get through over them. They couldn’t afford to settle for the bare minimum, not like how Class 1-B had done in the first event in order to examine Class 1-A’s quirks.

“So what’s the plan then?” Ed asked.

“Well, you know Class A, but I know Class B.” Ling grinned down at Shoda, who looked nervous but excited. “Why don’t we show them we’re not to be trifled with, eh?”

Shoda nodded, still sweating nervously but much more determined. “You got it!”

“Sounds great to me,” Ed replied as they gunned for one of the Class B teams. “I’m always ready to show you Class B nerds what’s up.”

Ling laughed. “Careful or you’ll start getting compared with Monoma.”

Ed scowled at the thought. He didn’t know who Monoma was, but it couldn’t be a good thought, just as Ling would no doubt want to be compared with Bakugou. He glanced around, catching sight of Bakugou’s team fighting with a Class B’s team and-- What the hell? Had Bakugou lost his headband? And where was Midoriya’s and Todoroki’s teams? Holy shit, this was a mess.

Ling secured their new bandana around his neck and then twirled the metal pole hook in his hand to hold it like a spear. Ed caught sight of Winry, who wore an extreme look of concentration while she began to sweat. No doubt almost constantly using her quirk was beginning to take its toll on her. They’d have to give her a mental break or she was like to get too strong of a headache to think straight.

This was a lot harder than he’d anticipated. It was only thirty minutes, but it felt like hours. Ed focused again on the Class B team. He had to give it his all too.

*

Sitting in the tent on her break, Riza watched the cavalry battle commence on the television. They had put a few up so that the pro heroes could watch the event while on their breaks from patrols. There had always been pro heroes around for the U.A. Sports Festival, most of them to watch the students and line up potential recruits for internship, work studies, or sidekicks for their agencies. Many of them did security rotations as well. That had been beefed up this year. No one wanted another USJ Incident, so the school was taking every precaution.

Unlike Roy, who had avoided anything to do with the Sports Festival event up until last year, Riza had always watched them with avid interest. Even before she’d decided to open up an agency with Roy, she had found it a lot of fun and interesting. Of course it put students at U.A. at both an advantage and disadvantage when it came to their futures. On one hand, they were given a chance to show off so it was either for heroes and companies to evaluate them and be impressed. On the other hand, any villains watching it would have a better idea of their quirks as well.

Roy had been quite impressive in their first Sports Festival. He’d won it, hands down, although she thought it was partly because he hadn’t been forced to face Aizawa, who knew him well enough to beat him. It had been a fun memory, even if she had been knocked out in the second round. Their second Sports Festival… Not so much. No one talked about it. Had Roy even competed in their third one or had he opted out? Had he been allowed? It shamed her to admit she couldn’t remember.

Watching it on the television just wasn’t the same. She could hear the crowd shouting in excitement and cheering in the stands as she watched the students fight and struggle for points in the battle on the television, but it lacked the personal touch that came from seeing it with her own eyes. Maybe it had something to do with her quirk, which relied on her eyes more than her hands, which most people didn’t know. She liked to see things firsthand so she could examine them. Watching them on television made her feel like she wasn’t seeing everything, the opposite of how she felt when she looked at things through a scope.

It was important to get a close look at these students. After all, they were the future of heroes.

Because they operated an agency together and Roy had refused to watch the event, Riza had always been the one that left to attend it. The festival was the best way to comb through the students, who would soon after send in applications for their internships. The more impressive students, usually anyone remaining in the last event, were sent offers even before applications went out. As the top four hero, Roy could afford to be picky with who he let intern at their office, but more often than not he let her decide. She’d make a report of potential students and he would pick two or three from the list.

This year, Roy was in a special place where he could have even more insight than her. Riza would only see these students in action today, but he saw them five days a week. He knew their quirks, habits both good and bad, tactics, speed and strength, personalities. He would know much better than her what student would fit perfectly in their agency and also what student would help benefit them the most. Since they co-owned it, they were able to take on more than one internship. Roy wasn’t fond of interns or maybe it was the other way around. He could be a difficult mentor (and hero and person), but she truly believed that he’d begun to change since becoming a U.A. teacher.

These students were important to him. She doubted that he realized how much time he spent on them, whether it was talking or simply thinking about them. This was a good thing. He’d grown despondent and distant after the murder of one of his close friends, which had worried her. The last time he had gotten like that and no one had done anything to help him, well, it had ended poorly for all of them.

“Oh, there are some really strong students this year,” Mount Lady said as she snacked on a wide variety of food that she’d tricked fans into buying her. Maybe tricked wasn’t the right word. Convinced. Yes, she’d convinced fans, specifically the men, into buying her food and drinks. Riza couldn’t fault her on that.

“They’re strong every year,” Death Arms said, not buying into the fanfare yet. “This is U.A., after all.”

“Class 1-A was the students that was involved in the USJ Incident, weren’t they?” Kamui Woods pointed out. “To have already faced down villains at that age and survived to participate in the Festival today, they must be strong and resilient.”

“Do you know any more about that?” Mount Lady asked, spinning in her seat to face Riza.

“Why would I?” Riza questioned, even though she knew what Mount Lady was suggesting. She’d stopped taking offense to it years ago. She and Roy were a team. They’d been together for many years, more so than most people realized. They had an open line of communication between them, so it wasn’t a huge jump to assume that Roy told her about what went on at U.A. since he worked there now.

Mount Lady smiled knowingly. “Tight-lipped as always, Hawk’s Eye.” She was quite beautiful and charming, but also a lot more clever than people gave her credit for. No dummy could become a pro hero. “Maybe I’ll just ask the man himself. I’ve been meaning to see if he’d like to go out for dinner.”

“You can try,” Riza replied, shrugging her shoulders carelessly, “but he’s very busy with his two jobs.”

Seeing that her little jab didn’t hit the mark, Mount Lady sighed and went back to watching the screen and eating, completely unbothered. If Riza got upset every time a woman hit on Roy or tried to get with him, she would have drowned in tears. In high school, girls had fawned over him, even after the Incident. Roy was attractive, powerful, bright, confident, and had a magnetic personality. She’d seen more than a handful of women fall victim to that kind of charm. After so many years, it didn’t even make her blink.

“Oh, man, I would not want to be that Midoriya kid or on his team right now,” Death Arms said, shaking his head at the screen. With just three minutes left in the cavalry battle, Midoriya’s team had managed to have onto their bandana, which added up to over ten million points. It was a shock considering that they’d been pressed into a tight spot due to Todoroki’s ice. Everyone was focused on Midoriya - and for good reason - but Riza’s attention kept trailing back to Todoroki.

The Sports Festival was the first time she’d seen him in years. Even before, it had never been up close. She had known that Endeavor would never let her come near him. The moment he saw her, he would take Todoroki away. She was right here, but yet he felt so far away. That intense look in his mismatched eyes made her think of his father, but it also made her think of Roy. He was so focused, so single-minded on winning, that nothing else in the world mattered. Despite coming in second due to Midoriya’s quick thinking and Bakugou holding him back, Riza had been shocked by just how much power he had.

Now that reminded her of Roy. He’d done something quite similar in their first Sports Festival.

She did find it curious that he was only relying on half his quirk. Roy had told her that Todoroki refused to use the fire half of his quirk under most circumstances, only relying on it to melt his ice. It was interesting, but Roy made it seem like Todoroki hated it. Riza could understand that. Her first memories were centered on hoping that she would inherit her mother’s or father’s quirks so that she could help her father with his research, only to blindside everyone by getting a completely different quirk. It didn’t happen often, quirks skipping generations, but genetics was still trying to figure quirks out. Not every child inherited what their parent expected.

In Todoroki’s case, at least, Endeavor had gotten exactly what he wanted and more - a child with extraordinary ice and fire powers - but he was only using half of his quirk. Even then, he was still at the top of the pack. Nothing would stop him from reaching the top, not even his own father. Why was he so adamant against his fire power though? Did he hate his father that much? Endeavor was controlling and temperamental and had no doubt trained his son judging by how strong he was at only fifteen, but how bad could it be?

Riza thought of her own father with his fanaticism to pass on his knowledge and then Roy who had been such a naive and eager apprentice when she failed. It could get very bad.

“And Team Todoroki takes the ten million with under a minute to spare!” Yamada announced excitedly from inside the stadium as the crowd went while. For a moment, his team had barely been visible as they burst forward using one of the other Class A’s speed quirks. “Team Midoriya is left with zero points!”

“Well that’s an upset,” Death Arms stated.

“Or a crowd pleaser,” Mount Lady added.

Kamui Woods folded his arms across his chest. “I expected no less from the son of the number two hero.”

Biting her lip, Riza watched the end of the match with bated breath. The number two hero. How long would Endeavor’s name chase Todoroki? Her own mother had gone to great lengths to distance herself from her maiden name. Her mother had suffered some sort of falling out with her family, particularly her younger brother, before meeting her father. She’d gone by a different name, but she had known that she was being courted for her quirk. She couldn’t completely escape the name even before it had become a household name.

Riza spent a lot of her preteen years wondering if her father had really loved her mother or if it had been a facade that her mother put up to keep her happy. Had she always known that she would find herself in a quirk marriage or had she longed for a happy ending? Had she given up that dream? It was hard to say. She had died when Riza was four. She could barely remember the woman or her fire quirk.

Legacies could be a great inspiration - or a terrible burden. Judging from the way Todoroki used his fire quirk only at the last second as a last resort, Riza was beginning to get an idea of how he felt. She understood that quite well. Now if she could only work up the courage to actually meet him. Family could be a burden as well, especially one as marred by burns as theirs.

*

Ling was frozen in shock on top of them after Present Mic announced the end of the cavalry battle. Similarly, Ed nor the other two on their team could move. They’d been doing pretty well all things considered until the very end. With three bandanas total, Ed had been sure that they had secured enough points to advance to the next round. It was just enough to keep them in fourth place even with Todoroki, Midoriya, and Bakugou fighting to the bitter end over those ten million points.

And then, all of a sudden, they didn’t have any points and the event came to an end.

What the hell had happened?

Ling had a hand in the air where the bandanas had been, his eyes wide and confused. Ed couldn’t even fault him for losing their points when he couldn’t even remember where they had gone. Who had they faced last? A Class B team, right? But when Ed looked in their direction, they didn’t have any points either. It didn’t make any sense. The bandanas couldn’t simply vanish. Where had they gone?

“I…” Ling dropped his hand and jumped off them. “What…?”

“We were in fourth,” Winry muttered, sounding utterly lost. “We had it.”

“Who the hell…?” Ed’s eyes drifted to the scoreboard right as Present Mic began to announce the four teams advancing. His eyes locked on the last team and he went from wide-eyed confusion to narrowed suspicion. “It’s that General Studies kid, the one that called us out.”

Winry perked up. “Al was on his team.”

“What’s his quirk?” Ed wondered out loud as he zeroed in on the surprise team. He didn’t know and hadn’t bothered to ask. Al would though. He’d pry it out of him.  Shinsou looked utterly casual as he pulled the bandanas from his neck while his other three teammates wore somewhat dazed expressions. Even Al was scratching his head in thought, as if he wasn’t sure either how he’d managed to place.

Other students seemed equally shocked at the turn of events, especially after it was announced that Midoriya’s team had managed to snag enough points from Todoroki’s to get through at the very last second. It still left Bakugou’s team in third. Ed could hear him screaming even with a wall of ice blocking them.

“What happened?” Ling asked, his own confusion turning to anger. “We were in it. We had it.”

At that moment, Shinsou turned around to connect eyes with Ed and grinned as he waved their bandana in the air. Ed glared back at him furiously. Whatever had happened, all roads lead back to him. He walked away, waving in thanks to his teammates. Al turned around to face Ed and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. This was a turn of events that no one had expected, but Ed was going to get to the bottom of it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't plan on updating this fic this week. And then I read someone's FMAB liveblogs and started talking with karmahope about her FMA fanfic, "Rewriting Fiction", and... Then this happened. I decided not to go for a huge ass chapter. I kinda miss it when my chapters were in between 4-6k. It made it a lot easier to update fics. As with any crossovers like this, there are a few canon divergences from scenes from the anime/manga. I will say one thing: damn, I missed writing Mustang, especially in this fic.

“And now for a brief intermission! Check out the stands for food or merch! We’ll be back with some fun, optional games for the students both in and out of the tournament to play before the matches begin!”

Yamada’s announcement was as good a time as any to slip out from his spot with the other U.A. teachers. Roy knew that Riza was patrolling the area with a group of pro heroes. Since opening his agency, he had offered to help out with the U.A. Sports Festival’s security. He was always known to lend a helping hand before even being asked. Just because he didn’t watch it and had tried to avoid U.A. for years didn’t mean he was actively against the school. He just didn’t have fond memories of the Festival.

Seeing as how this was the first Festival he’d attended in years, Riza obviously did most of the scouting for them. However, since she was actually working security detail this year, she wasn’t able to watch the events with as close of an eye as usual. She apparently had appointed three of their sidekicks - Havoc, Breda, and Falman - to work as a group to do the scouting. Somewhere in the crowds, they had been watching the same thing as them, very much excited to be on this side instead of working like Riza. She could’ve had them work security, but she had wanted to do it herself.

Roy kind of wish she hadn’t. If she had been in the stands with the crowd, he probably would’ve sat with her instead of the other teachers. Not that he had anything against them, but he wasn’t exactly close with the other teachers and the ones he was familiar with were busy with the event. Aizawa was (kind of) doing announcements with Yamada, despite being wrapped up like a mummy because of his injuries from the USJ Incident, and Kayama was announcing the events and on standby, if her quirk was necessary to end a nasty fight.

That meant Roy had been left to sit next to All Might. He wasn’t bad to sit with, but, to be honest, the number one hero had been oddly quiet for the first two events. There had been a quiet intensity about him as he watched the games without even blinking, the kind of look on his face that said he had something really riding on this. Roy knew a gamble when he saw one. He wouldn’t have taken All Might for a gambling man, but he looked a lot more invested in this than a mere teacher. Maybe it was because this was his first year and these students were the first ones under his wing.

Whatever the case, All Might barely noticed Roy slip out of his seat and walk through the entryway that would lead him to the hallways. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Riza, alerting her of where he was heading (food stands), and then put it away. As he strode slowly through the hallways, he allowed his mind to slip to the first two events and think about them in closer detail. It was easy to get lost in them while watching, but, if he was going to be a good teacher, he needed to watch his students carefully.

Once more, Todoroki wasn’t using his left side. Roy noticed it right away and couldn’t help but feel frustrated. There was no way he was going to be able to combat years of negative treatment from Endeavor in a matter of weeks, but he could have easily won the first event had he used the fire half of his quirk. Not even Bakugou would’ve been able to catch up with him had he been going all out. Todoroki could’ve been the unmistakable number one, but he was holding himself back.

And for what? Roy couldn’t be for sure because he knew directly asking him about it would not get him an answer. It would’ve just been like asking him a direct question at that age: impossible, stupid, maddening, and potentially sad. All he could go on was Todoroki’s obvious contempt for his fire, which Roy knew was tied with Endeavor. Fire always went back to that bastard, even for him in a way. He wouldn’t have his own abilities had Riza’s father not cultivated that feud between him and Endeavor.

Not that Todoroki hadn’t been impressive even without it. Endeavor had obviously trained Todoroki well and he knew the ins and outs of the ice half of his quirk. He had to in order to make up for only using half of it.  Everyone had been impressed when Midoriya had taken out that zero point bot during the entrance exam, even if he had severely hurt himself in the process. That was forgotten after Todoroki took out multiple ones and blocked other students from following him in one go during the race.

It had been absolutely spectacular. Everyone in the crowd had just gasped.

He could be so much more.

Bakugou had shockingly come in third in the race and second in the cavalry battle, which must have been excruciating for him to deal with after announcing to everyone that he would be number one. He had fought his way to catch up with Todoroki, going with him toe-to-toe, almost coming in first. Midoriya had come out of nowhere with a combination of sheer brilliance and madness by using the bombs themselves to launch himself ahead of them. So caught up in their own fight, neither Todoroki nor Bakugou had seen him coming and he had used their rivalry to his advantage.

Roy could honestly say he had loved that. Normally he didn’t get caught up in these things, but seeing that quick thinking, when Midoriya had been so far behind, had excited him. That was what he was talking about. That was what he wanted to see in his students. Some ingenuity and creativity. It was curious that Midoriya hadn’t used his quirk at all in the first event and Roy wasn’t sure if he did or not in the cavalry battle. It was hard to tell. Everything had happened to so fast when Midoriya’s team had clashed with Todoroki’s at the end.

Going into the one-on-one fights, Bakugou would have a chip on his shoulder. He was going up against Uraraka first. Now, Roy didn’t believe that she was weak by any means, but Bakugou had something to prove and he would go at her with everything he had. That might make him volatile. Someone was going to leave on a stretcher in these fights - a few people, if he guessed. He did not envy Uraraka at all. Hopefully, she had something up her sleeve. If she could just get close enough to touch him, Bakugou’s quirk would turn against him without gravity holding him down.

His phone dinged, signaling a text, and pulled it out to see it was a response from Riza. She was still in the tent with the other heroes in her group on break. He changed his direction and headed that way, looking as casual as possible. Since he technically wasn’t working, he was in casual clothes instead of his hero costume. It enabled him to slip through the crowds relatively unnoticed. Most people mistook him for a civilian, which he didn’t mind. His hero costume wasn’t flashy and didn’t conceal his identity a lot, but he’d rarely used his actual name in public. He didn’t want people tracing him back to his time here.

Peering into the tent where the pro heroes on duty were able to rest and take their breaks, Roy found Riza almost immediately. She was watching the television, which showed the recreational games being set up. Before he could announce his arrival, another hero, Mount Lady if he remembered correctly, spotted him and exclaimed, “Hey, I know you’re handsome and all, but no civilians allowed!” She put her hands on her hips and smiled at him, a very sneaky one. “Unless you’re here to bestow me with some food.”

“Sorry, I’m afraid I have another date in mind,” Roy shot back teasingly.

Riza sighed as she turned around to face him and said in the voice of a person who had dealt with him for far too long, “I would appreciate it if you kept the jokes to a minimum, Flame Alchemist.” Aizawa would’ve been right there with her. Still, Roy grinned as she stood up and walked over to him.

Mount Lady’s face dropped. “Oh my god, I didn’t-” She smacked herself in the head. “Of course it’s you! I don’t know why I didn’t recognize you.”

“It’s okay,” Roy replied, winking at her. “It happens all the time.” He looked down at Riza, who was eyeing him like she wanted to smack him in the head. “How much longer do you have for your break? I’m famished. I want some cheap vendor food.”

“I’ve got some time,” Riza told him as she followed him out of the tent, waving briefly to the other heroes. One of them, a man with large arms, was guffawing openly as Mount Lady shriveled in on herself. If her quirk could allow her to shrink as well, she would’ve turned herself into the size of an ant. It was always amusing to watch other heroes realize their misstep with him when he was out of costume. “Besides, I’m due to patrol inside this time, so I can just walk with you.”

They found a vendor quickly where Roy could get food. The man offered Riza a discount while the stall next to him said he would give her food for free. Seeing as how she was in her uniform, they recognized her. For a brief moment, Roy considered using his quirk to show off who he was (what human being didn’t like free food?), but thought better of it at the last second. Riza would think he was being an ass. She wouldn’t be wrong. Still, it was entertaining to watch her get fawned over. She wasn’t used to the attention and had probably spent the better part of her day watching men froth over Mount Lady, who did a good job at getting what she wanted.

Hey, there was absolutely no shame in that. Roy would not be able to say he hadn’t done the same thing before. Sometimes, as a hero, pandering was a part of the job. Now he hadn’t stooped so low to do commercials and he never would, but he knew a lot of heroes who were too tempted by the money it offered. Fame was a drug and money was even worse sometimes.

“Were you able to watch any of the events?” Roy asked as they wandered through the crowds. It was filled with a mixture of civilians, heroes, and students. Kids running around laughing, adults excited over things like they were kids again, heroes either patrolling or taking a break from watching the games. It was...nice. A small part of him did miss it. He could still remember what it had been like the first year he competed. It had been incredible.

Riza nodded. “Parts of it. I was able to watch most of the cavalry battle.”

“I’m glad we didn’t have to do that event,” Roy sighed gratefully.

She smiled at him a little. “Yamada probably would’ve made us all carry him.”

“Well, of course,” Roy quipped. “You were far stronger than him. He wouldn’t have been able to keep up had he been one of the carriers.”

Neither one of them reflected on their time at U.A. very often, but being here together for the first time since they had been students made it difficult. She’d started growing her hair out in high school. She had seen Aizawa’s messy, long hair and mumbled about how she wanted longer hair so Roy told her to just do it. Not all of it had been bad. There were good memories tied to this place too. Despite their bickering, he and Aizawa had really gotten along back then. He missed it - he really did - but he had been the one to betray their trust.

“What did you think of them?” Roy asked curiously. “I know you’re not the one scouting, but I still want to know your thoughts since you’ve heard me talk about them.”

Riza tapped her chin as she thought carefully. “As of now, despite coming in first and third, I don’t think many agencies would think to recruit Midoriya. He’s a dark horse - a gamble. No one knows what his quirk is and half of the point of the Sports Festival is to show off your quirk to recruiters. He’s definitely clever though and I know how much you like clever.”

Roy grinned and put a hand over his heart. “I love clever, I admit, but clever teenagers are so difficult. You remember how I was.”

“A true nightmare,” Riza concurred, nodding once. “Teachers hated you.”

“Your father thought I was a great student,” Roy pointed out.

“That’s because you were the only one who was smart enough to understand his research,” Riza said, “and you were also the only student dumb enough not to quit after two weeks.”

She wasn’t wrong, which was why Roy laughed. Riza’s father had been a ruthless teacher. He had trained Roy to use his quirk to the best of his ability - and that was before he was allowed to use the man’s research to create flames. He had been fascinated by the fact that Roy’s quirk wasn’t technically fire-related but could be applied as such. Oxygen manipulation was a very dangerous quirk on its own, but using it to create powerful and controlled flames was the culmination of his work. He didn’t live long enough to help completely teach Roy how to use his quirk that way, but he had figured it out on his own. He made the fire his own.

“I saw Todoroki.” Her tone was very careful. Ah, this was where she was struggling, hence why she put him in the middle of her speech. It would be easier to forget about him or at least not linger. “He was stronger than I could’ve imagined. He took out those zero point bots like they were nothing. If those things had been actual villains, it would’ve decimated them. And you said that he’s only using half of his quirk?” Roy nodded. It was so damn frustrating. What could be so important and serious that he would hinder himself like that? What was he even here for? “He’s one to watch out for. Nearly every top hero agency is going to be all over him.”

“He’ll be expected to intern at Endeavor’s agency,” Roy mused.

Despite her carefully restrained demeanor, Riza tensed and softly asked, “Do you really think he will?”

“I think it depends on the outcome of this next event,” Roy answered honestly. It was difficult to tell, being in the stands and then on the sidelines as a teacher, but he couldn’t help but feel like something was building. He had seen Todoroki use hints of the fire half of his quirk. Every time, it was a little more than the time before. When Roy had caught him conjuring up a flame before class, he’d also seen the conflicted look on his face when Edward Elric pointed it out. He’d been ashamed of using that fire.

Only at one point near the end of the cavalry battle had Todoroki used it to defend himself against Midoriya. It was brief - a blink and you’ll miss it moment - but someone as familiar with fire as Roy caught it. Afterward, Todoroki had worn that same look of shame on his face as he stared down at his left hand, like it had betrayed him somehow. He might not know exactly what Todoroki was going through, but he knew what it felt like to be betrayed by his own fears and insecurities.

“But I already know who you’ll want to intern with you,” Riza stated.

Roy raised an eyebrow. “Oh, do you now?”

“Bakugou,” Riza declared without any hesitation.

“He’s not in first place,” Roy pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter.” Riza shook her head, a tired but knowing smile on her face. “I knew it as soon as he said he would be number one. It reminded me painfully of you at that age. I almost laughed. No wonder he causes you so many issues in class and you’re so obviously fond of him. Serves you right.”

Roy snorted. “It does feel a bit like karma.”

“He’s extraordinarily volatile,” Riza pointed out, always one to be upfront about things. Whenever she had come back from scouting at the Sports Festival, she gave detailed reports about the students with the best potential, listing both the pros and cons of them. Not all of them asked to intern with their agency and not all were sent invitations. “He won’t be an easy intern to deal with. Despite that, because of his incredible strength, stubbornness, and creativity with his quirk, he’s going to be sought after. I imagine a lot of pro heroes want to be the one that - ah, how should I put this? - tame him.”

“That would be stupid of them,” Roy scoffed. Pro heroes were fond of molding younger ones, like interns or sidekicks, into the hero they believed was the best version of them. Some of them eventually fit in that mold; others rebelled against it. Bakugou was not a future hero to mold - he would do that himself - but he needed someone to push him in the right direction. Was Roy that right person? To be honest, he didn’t know. He wasn’t even certain Bakugou would want to intern with him. It would be up to him in the end. “He needs room to grow on his own. He might need some poking and prodding - maybe something a lot harder than that - but he doesn’t need to be smothered. He just needs to be...more.”

Riza’s faint smile broadened. “He’s sixteen and already has one of the most impressive quirks I’ve seen. He was stronger than you at that age.”

“In my defense,” Roy said edgily, “I had only been creating fire with my quirks for a few years whereas he’s had over a decade’s worth of practice.” He knew she was teasing him, but he still didn’t like it, if only because he had come to the same conclusion. Bakugou was stronger than him when he’d been sixteen. He would still need to pull out all the stops if he was going to come in first as Roy had in his Sports Festival because so was Todoroki. “He already has specialty moves, but he needs to work on the other aspects of his quirk. He’s so focused on fighting; he needs to learn how to save too.”

A soft expression graced Riza’s face. “I’m really proud of you.” He threw an unimpressed look in her direction. “No, I really am. You’ve taken to teaching a lot better than even you thought you would. This is important to you. These kids are important to you. It’s nice seeing you so passionate again.”

“I was passionate before,” Roy insisted. “Being a hero is my life.”

“I know, but ever since Hughes…” Riza drifted off when Roy looked away from her.

He didn’t want to talk about it - she knew he didn’t want to talk about it - but she was right. He’d gotten distracted, maybe lost some of that spark that set him above others, and hadn’t been himself. When no answers were found, he started to cave in on himself and get obsessive. Nezu’s call had pulled him out of that dark spiral and placed him on a new, much different path. He still desperately wanted to find out what happened, but he couldn’t focus on it as much.

These kids were more important than that. They required his attention. His own falling had come from his ability to hide and the teachers not being able to spot his downward spiral. He wouldn’t let that happen to any of the kids under him. They wouldn’t fall victim to promises made by a villain. He knew better than that.

“I’m glad you took the offer to teach here,” Riza told him, “even though it made you uncomfortable. It was the right decision. You can do even more good here.”

“I was not made to be a teacher,” Roy sighed. It was a lot harder than it looked. All those times he’d mocked his teachers were coming back to haunt him. No wonder All Might went everywhere with that Teaching for Dummies book in his back pocket.

Riza pat him on the shoulder. “Sometimes the best ones aren’t. You can see things that other more conventional teachers would miss. I think that’s why Nezu offered you the position. He knew that too.” If there was anyone else that knew him besides Riza, it was his former principal. Roy wouldn’t go so far as to say he was his mentor, but Nezu had fought with him to keep him on his path to being a hero, even when Roy had tried to ruin himself.

“Ah, it helps that working with children helps my image a little,” Roy mused idly. “Definitely helps with the ladies. It makes me look more sensitive. I’m more than just an incredible and handsome hero, after all.”

Instead of mocking him, Riza could only roll her eyes. She had nothing to say that would be nice. Despite her silence, she wasn’t irritated with him. By now, she was used to his jokes. He might’ve been a well-known ladies’ man (and potentially a player), but it had never really been important to him. Sure, he liked the attention - what guy wouldn’t? - but doing his job was more important to him than fame. It was a bonus. Plus, it made other heroes dismiss him as a serious threat, even if he was number four in the ranking. It was a running joke that he was only so high because of how attractive he was and Roy didn’t argue with them over it.

He thought it was kind of amusing.

Sounds from the crowd could be heard as they walked through the hallway. The one on one matches had started. He needed to return to his seat and Riza would go back to patrolling. Because of her quirk, she was well-suited for the task. He turned to tell her when another voice somewhere down the hall caught his attention. It might have been a while since he had heard that voice, but he would’ve recognized it anywhere.

A dark look fell over Roy’s face, prompting Riza to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“You should get back to work,” Roy told her instead as he started in the direction of the voice.

Riza furrowed her brow at the dismissal, but before she could call him out on it, they both distinctly heard someone around the corner say, “You’re being immature. Stop with this childish rebellious behavior.” She froze on the spot, having finally heard what he had. Roy wasn’t sure if she followed him or not, but sure enough, when he rounded the corner, he saw none other than Endeavor and, trying to ignore him to the best of his ability, his son.

“What are you doing down here?” Roy demanded coldly. Any other day, he would have acted flippantly in order to piss off the number two hero. Today was different. He was different. He wasn’t just a hero or a fire quirk user (even if he wasn’t truly one). He was a teacher. Todoroki might have been Endeavor’s son, but he was his student and Roy found himself feeling incredibly protective of him in this moment.

Todoroki’s shoulders hunched further upon hearing someone else’s voice. He paused and turned his head slightly to peer at him with one grey eye. There was a cold fury in them, along with something else. Roy didn’t want to say it was looked like he was pleading, but he was definitely uncomfortable. Whether it was because of his father or Roy’s presence, he couldn’t be sure.

Endeavor’s flames burned a little stronger. “This doesn’t concern you, Flame Alchemist.”

“It does when you’re not supposed to be down here harassing the students,” Roy shot back, folding his arms across his chest and mirroring Endeavor’s stance. He knew he wasn’t as intimidating as Endeavor. He wasn’t trying to be. He couldn’t stack up to the other hero’s height, physical strength, or muscle. He didn’t need to in order to be a threat. “This area is meant for authorized personnel, UA staff, and students only.”

“Then what is she doing here?” Endeavor questioned.

Roy glanced to his right where Riza now stood and said, “She’s on security detail.” She wasn’t paying attention to him and neither was Endeavor for the moment.  Instead of looking at Endeavor, her eyes were fixed on Todoroki. This was the closest she had ever been to him. Her mother’s eyes had been the same bright blue as his left. There was a quiet intensity about her, one very similar to Todoroki’s own aura.

Endeavor followed her gaze and glared deeply. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“It does when it involves one of my students,” Roy replied.

“You’ve been his teacher for a month or so,” Endeavor scoffed. “I’m his father-”

“I don’t care,” Roy interrupted. “Go.”

Roy could feel the heat from Endeavor’s costume. Unlike him and Todoroki, Roy was not fire resistant. Flames would hurt him as much as the next person. Of course, they didn’t know that. Very few people did. They simply assumed that he was resistance because of his use of fire with his quirk. People thought he stayed away from fire because he didn’t want to mess up his costume or something vain like that. The flames now were unpleasant, reminding him of a sauna from this distance, but he’d built up a tolerance over time.

“Don’t you dare even think you can order me around,” Endeavor growled, the fire around him an obvious sign of his fury. Roy thought of how his own flames grew when he was pissed. It irritated him that they could be anything alike. “This is between father and son. You have no right to get in the middle of our business. Shouto is acting out of turn. He needs guidance-”

“From you?” Roy laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Don’t get me wrong, Endeavor. You’re an incredible hero. I know that - I would never say otherwise - but you’re delusional if you think you’re being helpful.” He knew better than to draw attention to Todoroki, not when Endeavor was no longer focused on him. His clenched fists had relaxed and expression turned guarded. “He’s got a match to fight. You’re distracting him.”

Endeavor looked from Roy to Riza before snorting derisively. Roy didn’t give a shit what he thought about him. If he could move past the number four spot, there was a possibility that Endeavor wouldn’t be number two. Roy wasn’t lying when he said that Endeavor was an incredible hero. He had reached the rank he was today for a reason and Roy could not dismiss that, but that didn’t make him any less of an asshole.

The tense way that Todoroki held himself in his father’s presence spoke volumes. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want his father here. He probably didn’t want Roy or Riza here either. No doubt it humiliated him on some level. He would either want to take care of things himself or act as if didn’t bother him. It clearly did though and he did not like other people around to see it. That was a sign of weakness and Todoroki was anything but weak, even while being “immature” and “acting out of turn” by not using his left side.

“He will win - or lose - by his own means, in whatever way and strategy he chooses,” Roy stated, refusing to back down. He wasn’t intimidated by Endeavor either. “Contrary to what you believe, the world doesn’t revolve around you. This fight and his future is his, not yours.” With that said, even though Endeavor was glaring at him like he could burn him to the ground with his eyes alone, Roy turned his attention to Todoroki. The boy was watching them like a hawk. Riza had still said nothing. “Go on. You’re up. I just heard Present Mic announce the next match.”

Todoroki took one last look at his father, his expression hardening again, and then returned his gaze ahead of him, muttering, “Yes, sir.”

“Shouto,” Endeavor said, trying once more to reach out to him, “if you used your left side-”

“No,” Todoroki cut in harshly. “I won’t use your power. I will win this with Mom’s quirk alone.”

The first thought to pop into Roy’s mind was,  _ You don’t have to,  _ but he wisely kept his mouth shut. He knew it would only make matters worse and he didn’t want to be seen even partially agreeing with Endeavor. Todoroki might see it as a betrayal. Whatever this was - an argument between father and son or something much worse - it was clearly something that Todoroki needed to work through on his own. He let his student go, body tense all over again, and knew it was going to end poorly.

Endeavor moved to brush past him the second Todoroki walked out onto the field, but then he stopped when he was next to Roy. “The next time you try to speak to me like this or tell me how to raise my son, you will regret it, Flame Alchemist,” he declared, as if that would make Roy think twice or frighten him somehow. They were two pro heroes. It wasn’t like they were going to get in a backyard brawl, especially with so much press around.

“Of course,” Roy replied dryly. He already regretted the conversation, but not for the reasons Endeavor would have liked. He would have loved to smother those flames of his, just suck out of the oxygen they fed on and snuff them out, make him choke a little. He hadn’t though. Riza would be proud of him later for not acting out. He would have to do it later when she wasn’t around.

“He’s my successor and I know what’s best for him, not you,” Endeavor stated.

Roy rolled his eyes to him, a smirk on his face. “You might need to rethink the word ‘best’. He won’t even use the fire half of his quirk because of you.” When Endeavor shot forward, like he meant to grab him, Riza moved as well. She didn’t go for any of the weapons she had on her, but the way she stepped up and threw an arm across Roy’s chest was enough to make Endeavor stop. Roy changed his expression to one that screamed how unimpressed he was with the number two hero.

“Is she your bodyguard now?” Endeavor scoffed.

“She’s my partner,” Roy said. Behind him, the crowd went wild as Present Mic began to announce both fighters. At least someone was having fun. “You better get running. I’m sure you won’t want to miss this match.” With one final glare, Endeavor swept away from them and stormed down the hall towards the stairs. Roy watched him go and rolled his eyes when he was out of their sight. “Tch, what an asshole.”

Riza deflated. “I should have said something.”

Roy immediately softened and shook his head. “No, it wasn’t the right time. You’ll have it soon enough and that bastard won’t be around to ruin the moment.”

She let out a sigh, but didn’t argue with him. Her father had been an incredibly harsh teacher, but Roy had always had the option to leave. If it got too much for him to handle, if his hate for the training outweighed his desire to become the greatest hero there ever was, he could have walked away. He didn’t. He took every beating, absorbed every lesson, and studied until dawn - to the point where he was ahead of most students at UA.

Todoroki had never been given that option and neither had Riza. It had been their father’s rule or nothing. It was more than unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do about the past. He had to work on the future. That was his job as a teacher, wasn’t it? Just as he couldn’t fix his own history and had to work on being a better person every day, he couldn’t erase theirs. He’d tried with Riza. She came back to him. He’d tried with Aizawa, Kayama, even Yamada - with UA and Nezu - and here he was, teaching alongside them in the very place he feared the most.

“I have to get back to work,” Riza said, even as she looked at the field, confliction in her eyes. She both wanted to watch the match and didn’t at the same time. After a confrontation like that, Todoroki was likely to erupt. He was set to go against Sero, wasn’t he? It wasn’t an even match by far and Sero probably knew it, but what he didn’t know was that Endeavor had pushed all of Todoroki’s buttons moments ago. It wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Go on,” Roy told her gently. “I’m going to watch from down here.”

Schooling her expression into a more professional one, Riza nodded and then walked away. Once she was gone, he turned his attention back to the field and walked closer to the entrance outside. He leaned against the wall, eyes focused on Todoroki’s back. He held himself rather limply, but Roy knew it wasn’t a sign that he was relaxed, not when he had looked like he was about to explode at any second before walking out there.

Sero had to get the first jump if he was going to accomplish anything, but besides Todoroki himself, there was nothing for his tape to grab onto yet. He was quick, using his tape to wrap up his opponent. He pulled on it hard, moving to throw Todoroki out of the ring when Roy saw it happen.

Todoroki just...snapped.

He didn’t need his arms to use his quirk. The ice exploded from his feet like a bomb going off, encasing not only Sero entirely but creating an insanely massive ice glacier that made Roy suck in a gasp of breath. It nearly took out half of the stadium and had half-frozen Kayama on the podium. Todoroki had done a similar move to take out the zero point bots in the race, but this was out of control. It went far beyond that, just inches away from striking those in the stands as well. With Sero unable to move, Kayama declared Todoroki the winner.

He didn’t look pleased to have won. If anything, as he used his left side to melt the ice holding Sero captive, Roy could have sworn that Todoroki looked sad.

Roy dug his hands in his pockets and turned to head back to his seat with the other UA staff members. He didn’t want to be here when Todoroki came back and it would take time to clear the ice from the stadium for the next match. For some reason, he felt unsettled as the fight replayed in his mind again. Maybe it wasn’t the fight that bothered him so much as Todoroki’s reaction after. That despondency, the shame. He knew those feelings all too well. They had eaten away at him after the Incident.

He didn’t want that to happen to Todoroki too. He wouldn’t allow it. But how the hell was he supposed to help the kid when he hadn’t even been able to help himself?


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise to the person who thought this wasn't getting continued, only to find out that I already had 2k of this chapter done! LOL I wrote most of this today. I still can't believe I finished it. Maybe it ends on a less powerful note than the actual Sports Festival, but tbh, I didn't want to write about the whole thing from Ed's or Al's POV when we've seen it. I will talk about it more in depth in the next chapter. Also, I feel like this chapter actually marks for the most canon divergence so far. It still sticks with most of the anime/manga, but there a few key (and some very small but important) differences.

Discomfort radiated from Al as they lined up in a group to listen to Midnight announce the final event. Ed couldn’t figure out what his brother’s problem was. Ever since the end of the Cavalry Battle, he had been strangely distant and wouldn’t give a straight answer to anything. It wasn’t like him at all. His team had made it through to the next round like Midoriya’s, so he should’ve been excited, but instead, he looked somewhat displeased. Maybe he was bummed that Ed hadn’t been able to make it too, but that wasn’t on him.

Well, it kind of was, he supposed. Al’s team had apparently been the one to steal their headbands at the last second. To be honest, Ed couldn’t even remember how it happened, but he wasn’t about to forget Shinsou swirling the headbands around his pointer finger like a smug jackass.

Still, while Al might not have the explosive personality that Ed did, it wasn’t like him to be this quiet, especially during the Sports Festival that they loved so much. While Ed and Winry had compared details about their side of the event with Midoriya, Uraraka, and Tokoyami, Al sat to the side and listened. Hell, Ed wasn’t even sure he had actually been paying attention to them. When Uraraka had asked how his team had managed to sneak in at the very end, Al had smiled uncomfortably and shrugged his shoulders, murmuring, “Luck, I guess.”

Now, here they were, about to find out how the Sports Festival for the first years would close out. Ed figured it would be a tournament of some kind. It usually was since that was the easiest way to determine a clear victor in the end. It could be done in teams of two, solo, or maybe something completely different altogether. He wasn’t sure. He did feel like it was kind of rude and dumb to have those not participating in the crowd too. It wasn’t like they had anything to gain out of this. Still, he wanted to be there for Al, who shifted nervously on his feet.

When Midnight announced that the final event was indeed a one-on-one tournament event, Al’s eyes dropped to the ground. He let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging as well, as if the weight of the pressure was getting to him. That had to be it. The Sports Festival was a huge opportunity for U.A. students to show off their quirks and skills. He had been able to do that during the Cavalry Event, blocking and knocking anyone out of his team’s way by turning into his armored form, but Ed knew he felt like he lacked when compared against Kirishima or even Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B, both of whom had very similar quirks.

“Hey,” Ed said lowly, punching him in the arm, “you’ve got this.”

Al shook his head. “No, I don’t, brother.”

Ed furrowed his brow in confusion. “What-?”

His question was not only ignored but interrupted by Al raising his hand like they were in class. As soon as she spotted him in the crowd, Midnight stopped before she could start to pair them off for the first round. “Alphonse?”

“I…” Al slowly dropped his hand. “I would like to rescind my name in the tournament.”

Around them, everyone gasped and turned to stare at him, including Ed. His brother refused to meet his gaze and continued to look at the ground. Shame was written all over his face. His stomach lurched. He hadn’t seen Al look like this since… Not since the accident that had taken Ed’s arm and leg when they were kids.

“I know this is a huge opportunity and that doing something like this is unheard of,” Al continued in a stronger voice, though he still hadn’t lifted his eyes to meet Midnight’s intense stare. “Everyone is working so hard and doing their very best to become number one and so other pro heroes can take note of them, but I…” He took a deep breath. “I don’t feel like I did that in the last round. To be honest, I don’t even know if I did anything.”

Ed gripped his brother’s arm tightly. “What are you talking about, Al? You deserve to be in the next round! You got those headbands! Your team won fair and square!”

“Did we?” Al rubbed his head. “I can’t really remember. It’s kind of a blur.” He finally lifted his eyes, a much more determined look in them. “I don’t know what happened, but I know I didn’t put in nearly as much effort as everyone around me. I can’t go to the next round with that weighing on me. It’s not right.”

“Al…” Ed didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. Everything they had done so far had led to this point. Every student at U.A. aiming to become a hero knew that the Sports Festival was the very beginning. It was where a lot of pro heroes in the country started their scouting, considering that it was such a high profile event from the top hero school. Internships were set after the Festival and doing well in these events meant having a higher chance of being invited or accepted by an agency to intern with them.

If Al opted out of the tournament - if he stepped aside to let someone else take his place - he would effectively be taking himself out of the spotlight and giving it to someone else. How could he do that? A pro hero’s reputation depended on being known, didn’t it?

“Are you sure about this?” Midnight asked.

“Yes.” Al nodded decisively. “Someone else who has actually worked harder should take my place.”

Midnight stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Hm...interesting…”

Just when Ed was about to plead with Al to reconsider his insane stance, Ojiro raised his hand and stated, “I would like to pull out as well.”

Everyone gasped for a second time and Midnight blinked. Even she couldn’t remain nonplussed after witnessing something unheard of. As far as Ed could remember, no one had ever opted out of competing in the next round after winning during the Sports Festival. Ojiro had been one of Al’s teammates too. What the hell had happened on that team? Ed looked around to find the others until his gaze landed on Shinsou. There was an expressionless look on his face that he didn’t trust. Why had Ed been teammates with him in the first place?

“I agree with Alphonse,” Ojirou explained, sounding terribly ashamed with himself. He was like that though. Not having a flashy quirk hadn’t kept him from getting into the hero course. He worked his ass off to be where he was now and that wouldn’t change in the Sports Festival. “It doesn’t feel honorable to advance to the next round when I don’t feel as if I put in nearly as much effort as those around me.”

After tapping her switch against her thigh, Midnight asked, “You two are fully committed to stepping out and allowing someone else to take your places?”

Through the crowd, Al and Ojirou connected eyes before simultaneously saying, “Yes.”

Midnight clasped her hands together. “So honorable! Such youthful hope! How am I to deny that?” She pointed her switch at Al, making him jump. “Your requests shall be honored. I thank you both for your incredible honesty. Let that not go unnoticed by every hero and civilian watching today!”

Al sank in relief, although it irritated Ed. He knew that Midnight was putting on more of a show since it was the Sports Festival and they were on television, but it was still dumb. What if he had to act like this in the future when he was a pro hero? No, he wouldn’t dare. He refused to act like anyone other than who he was, even if there was a camera shoved in his face, just as Al, for some reason, hadn’t believed he should go into the next round. They had to stay true to who they were in order to make it.

“As there are two spots now needed to be filled for the tournament, we will opt to the next team with the most points,,” Midnight announced. “Team Kendo placed in fifth.”

Admittedly, Ed had no idea who that was, but upon the announcement, a redheaded girl that he at least knew was from Class B rubbed the back of her neck. She huddled in a group with three people around her, speaking with them in low voices, before turning to face Midnight. “We have decided that the opportunity to advance actually belongs to Team Ling.”

Ed nearly jumped out of his shoes. Why the fuck was he getting called out? “What?”

Kendo must have heard him because, despite Ling not being anywhere near him, she smiled at him briefly before returning her attention back to the pro hero hosting the events. “Team Ling was in fourth and would’ve won if Team Shinsou hadn’t taken their headbands in the last few seconds of the event. We barely scraped by to place fifth in the end, but they had a much more effective and better than us. I believe someone from their team should move forward instead.”

“That is…” Midnight placed a hand over her heart. “I have honestly never heard such more heart-spoken words before in the Sports Festival. I simply cannot deny that request.”

_ What the hell is going on? _ Ed thought, questioning his sanity. In all the times he had watched the Sports Festival, including the old ones he’d found on the internet, nothing like this had ever happened before. Even if he had thought it might, he wouldn’t have guessed it would happen to him. He looked at his younger brother, who smiled sheepishly at him, and then to Winry, who had grabbed his arm without him even noticing.

“We need two members from Team Ling to step forward!” Midnight declared. A coy but dangerous smile crossed her face. “I would suggest one of them be your leader.”

There was a grunt from somewhere in the crowd. Ed spotted Shoda murmuring to Ling and then shoving him forward again before Ling drawled, “I suppose I can be one of them.”

Ed turned to Winry, a panicked look in his eyes. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t take his brother’s spot. It was wrong on every level. It was shameful. Al would be upset with him for this. Instead of meeting a judgmental look from Winry that would solidify his decision to stay out of this mess, he met her supportive eyes and smile.

“Winry, I can’t,” Ed said in a pained whisper, hoping against hope that Al couldn’t hear him.

“Go for it,” Winry insisted.

Ed shook his head wildly. “You do it-”

“No,” Winry stated. “I did what I came here to do. I showed off my gear. You deserve this.”

A hand on his shoulder made Ed turned around to face Al. Why was his little brother taller than him? “I want you to do this, brother.” Al smiled. “There’s always next year.”

It felt like an utter betrayal to raise his hand, but it also felt like that if he didn’t. Al wore an expression of pure hope, not a single trace of regret, jealousy, or anger in his eyes. He genuinely wanted to step down and for Ed to take his place. Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Ed slowly raised his hand for Midnight to take note of and prayed this wouldn’t bite him in the ass later.

Midnight pointed her switch in the air. “Ling Yao and Edward Elric shall advance to the next round in place of Alphonse Elric and Mashirao Ojirou!” The smile that slid onto her face looked dangerous as she surveyed the crowd of students below her. “Let the matchups begin!”

Ed’s stomach flopped as he watched the large screen. Just minutes ago, he had accepted the fact that he wouldn’t be moving onto the next round and yet here he was now, waiting for his name to pop up on the screen. He tore his gaze away for a moment and connected eyes with Midoriya, who gave him an excited thumbs up. No one had really counted on him being in the final event either. He’d shocked everyone in the race and then managed to steal enough points at the very last second to place for the next round.

Everyone liked an underdog. There would certainly be a lot of eyes on all of them. Ed just hoped he could live up to taking Al’s place in the final round. It still didn’t sit right with him, but he eased up when he peered at Al. Instead of the defeated and troubled expression that he’d been wearing since the end of the cavalry battle, he was smiling as he listened to the first round of fights. He was happy and relieved, a weight no longer resting on his shoulders.

Yeah, that weight was sitting very uncomfortably on Ed’s shoulders right about now, but it would be worth it. He would make his brother proud and show him that his sacrifice hadn’t been a waste.

*

Midoriya pat Ed on the back as they wandered in the direction of the food vendors. “Tough break on matching up with Kaminari in the first round. That’s going to be rough.”

Ed didn’t need the other boy to tell him. As soon as he’d seen his name placed next to Kaminari’s on the screen, he had sworn mercilessly under his breath. Kaminari might be kind of a dumbass, but his quirk was deceptively strong. Not to mention the whole metal leg and arm thing, which would put Ed at a severe disadvantage against all the electricity that he discharged. One touch from him and he’d be a goner. Even worse, Kaminari didn’t have to touch him to shock him. His electricity could be dispersed through the ground.

In other words, Ed was screwed.

After the first round of fights was drawn, Present Mic had announced a lunch break. Students that had both been eliminated and were in the next event could participate in a round of fun games in between if they wanted or take a moment to relax and eat while they prepped for their next fight. Personally, after all that running around and carrying Ling, Ed was starving. Al and Winry had opted to play at least one of the games since they weren’t advancing and joined up with Sero while Ed went with Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka to get food.

“I’m not gonna be able to fight him head-on,” Ed sighed. “That’s for sure. I might as well be a lightning rod.”

“You’ll just have to outsmart him then,” Uraraka joked.

All the intelligence in the world wouldn’t help him if he got hit even a little. How was he supposed to show off his skills and Winry’s gifts if he was too busy flailing around on the ground while being electrocuted?

“It could be worse,” Ed mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “I could be facing Bakugou in the first round.”

Uraraka’s grin immediately fell. She blew a raspberry and muttered, “Trust me; I’m not looking forward to it.”

Maybe he would’ve preferred to face Bakugou. He might stand something of a chance. No, he couldn’t think like that. He was going to beat Kaminari. He was just...even more of an underdog than he’d originally thought. At the end of the day, Kaminari wasn’t a brawler. He couldn’t fight very well. In the three years they were here, maybe he would learn, but right now, hand-to-hand combat was not his thing. Meanwhile, Ed knew how to fight very well. He and Al had been sparring forever. He had to use that to his advantage somehow. He  _ would _ .

Just when Ed opened his mouth to make a smart comment about Bakugou, he caught sight of Ling darting through the crowd. Normally, he wouldn’t pay the Class 1-B kid any mind, but he had been sort of the reason they had been able to rack up so many points until Shinsou’s team snatched them away. Plus, he was the other student who had been able to advance to the next round since Ojiro had stepped down as well. He wanted to talk with him, especially since he was going up against Kirishima.

“I’ll be right back,” Ed said abruptly, accidentally interrupting Uraraka and Midoriya. Ah, they wouldn’t mind. He hadn’t done it to be a jackass. “Don’t eat all the food without me!”

“With what money?” Uraraka called out as he hurried off.

Ling hadn’t been that far away when Ed spotted him, but he had managed to slip through the crowd deftly and vanish whereas Ed had to shove his way through. It was like no one could see him. Rude bastards. When he finally made it through to a clearing, he caught a glimpse of the other boy stopping next to a stall, although he didn’t seem to be looking at it. What was he doing? It was only when he caught up close did he realize that Ling was actually on the phone, his cellphone hidden on the other side of his profile.

“No, no, I understand,” Ling was saying in a tight voice. “You know I will.” He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I wish you were here too - it would make this easier - but I’ll do my best.”

Maybe it was one of his parents? It kind of sounded like the conversation a kid in a top ranking hero school would have if his dad was super strict and obsessed with winning but was too busy to actually show up. Then again, Ling didn’t come off as the kind of kid who had grown up in a house like that. It was hard to tell. One second he was flippant as could be and goofy as hell and the next he was incredibly intense. Hadn’t he been whining about how he was dying of hunger as the matchups were being announced?

Why did he sound so serious now?

Ed could only see the side of his face, but his jaw looked tight and his face screwed into a look of concentration. His free hand was clenched into a fist at his side and his entire body was being held tight together, as if he’d fall apart if he relaxed for even a moment. Maybe he was worried about the next round, but Ed couldn’t see him getting this worked up over it, at least not enough for other people to see. Granted, he didn’t know Ling very well, but he didn’t seem like the type that allowed his real emotions to bleed through for everyone to see. Maybe he really was a dolt - or maybe he just acted like it to throw people off.

“Just be careful, okay? Hosu has been under fire recently.” That...didn’t sound like what a kid would say to a parent. Unless maybe one of his parents was a pro hero? A lot of kids here had pro heroes for parents. It didn’t sound like it though. He spoke like the person on the other end was equal to him. Whoever it was, that was the end of his phone call. Ling pulled his cell away from his ear, ending the call, and shoved it into his back pocket, right as Ed stepped up behind him.

“Uh, everything alright?” Ed asked warily. He didn’t particularly care if something was wrong with Ling since they weren’t friends (if he was distracted during the next match, it would just mean he’d be easier to beat), but also, well… They had just been teammates less than an hour ago. And Ling looked stressed and angry. It wasn’t the right emotion for what had just happened for them. He should be elated.

Ling jerked his head around in his direction. For a brief second, his irises were red and the rest of his eyes almost entirely black, a shocking difference considering that they were usually narrowed. In a flash, his eyes were back to normal, like Ed had been seeing things, and he was even smiling sheepishly. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine!”

Ed narrowed his eyes. “Okay… It’s just that you looked kind of troubled.”

“Worried about me, Elric?” Ling teased, holding a hand against his chest. “I’m touched that someone from Class 1-A has a heart.”

“Oh, stop acting like Monoma,” Ed huffed irritably. “We both made it through to the next round because someone stepped down. Neither of us are any better than the other right now.”

Ling simply shrugged his shoulders in response, unconcerned by the statement. Not everyone from Class 1-B shared the hostile mentality against 1-A. In Ling’s case, he seemed to switch back and forth, depending on how it served him, which meant to Ed that he didn’t really care either way. If it suited him to be against 1-A, such as the race in the first event, he would use it. If it didn’t, he would let bygones be bygones, like in the cavalry battle. He was such a flipflopper.

But right now, even if he looked like he was back to his dumbass self, Ed couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong, something unsettled behind that smile and teasing attitude.

“Not participating in the extra games?” Ed asked.

“No, I’d rather conserve my energy for the next round,” Ling said. “Besides, I’m so hungry!” He pat his stomach. “I need to refuel.” He fished through his pockets, coming up short on enough money to buy the amount of food he probably wanted. “Think they’ll have pity on a poor heroics student?”

He lacked the silliness and enthusiasm that he had put in his actions before. Ed knew it. There was something seriously off with him and it was going to affect him in the next round. It wasn’t his business. He wasn’t friends with Ling. They had teamed up together in the last event out of necessity, but they were back to being enemies now...except that Ed had trouble seeing it that way. As much as they could annoy him, he didn’t understand the rivalry between the two hero courses. They were on the same side, weren’t they? Everyone was here to become a hero to fight villains and they would have to do so together.

“No attempt at a snappy comeback?” Ling prompted.

“You can try,” Ed grumbled half-heartedly, “but they usually only hand out food to pro heroes.”

While weaving his way through the crowd, he had seen Mustang and Hawk’s Eye at a food stand where the vendor was practically shoving free food into the latter’s hands. She hadn’t looked like she’d anticipated the enthusiasm whereas Mustang gazed at the food wistfully. No doubt he’d try to snag some free food, despite the fact that he wasn’t working like his agency partner was. The man wasn’t afraid to stoop lower to get what he wanted. He was utterly shameless. It was unbecoming of a pro.

Ling bent down to peer closer at him in his face. “Hm, that cavalry battle must have taken a lot out of you.”

Ed swatted him away. “I had to carry your ass the entire time! And you were leaning on me the most.”

“I thought you could handle it,” Ling quipped. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Yeah, yeah, go try to con people into buying you food,” Ed said, waving at him dismissively. Sharply changing direction, he pointed an accusing finger that made Ling pause. “But you better be on your best game. If we win our first rounds and meet each other out there in the next, I don’t want you distracted. Got it?”

Ling stiffened. “I’m not distracted.”

“You look like your cat died and you’re trying to hide it,” Ed pointed out.

For a moment, Ling considered him. The cheeky grin and melodramatic behavior were entirely gone, replaced by the serious nature Ed had seen glimpses of during the cavalry battle and then when he was on the phone. He knew there was something wrong. If Ling didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine, but he was also serious about not wanting to go at him while he was distracted. If it was too big of a deal, he shouldn’t be here competing while everyone else was focused on the Sports Festival.

Finally, Ling sighed and dropped the act. “You know how our first internships are coming up soon?”

Ed nodded. Of course he did. Besides the Sports Festival, that was the next thing resting on his mind. Without their pro hero licenses, they wouldn’t be able to do as much in the field, but the internships marked the first time they would be able to dip their toes in the real world of pro heroes. They probably wouldn’t get to go up any actual villians, but they could help take down small-time crooks or even go on small missions that their quirk would be helpful. It would be their chance to work with actual pro heroes and sidekicks.

Half the reason for the Sports Festival was so that they could basically advertise and sell themselves to the heroes whose agencies they would be applying for. It was why so many of them were shocked that Al and Ojiro had taken themselves out of the running. Not competing in the one event where they could shine the most as an individual would possibly hurt their chances of getting accepted into more popular agencies. Some students got invitations while others were left applying to multiple ones in hopes of getting one positive response. The fight for the top wasn’t just about prestige (okay, most of it was), but also to simply look good.

“My best friend ended up doing hers early, so she’s missing the Sports Festival,” Ling sighed.

“What?” Ed must have heard him wrong, but Ling didn’t repeat himself or even blink. “How did she manage that? Isn’t what this whole thing is about? Why would she do that?”

“Her uncle is a retired pro hero and he was able to get her in at Ingenium’s agency, but he most likely won’t have a spot open during the actual week of our internships so…” Ling drifted off, leaving Ed to fill in the blanks. That made sense if his friend had wanted to intern with Ingenium. Not long ago, Iida had explained that he came from a family of pro heroes and his oldest brother was, in fact, the one and the same Ingenium. Chances were Iida would intern with him. Maybe not, if he wanted to branch out. It all depended on how he did here and what he decided his next choice for his future should be.

“You’re worried about her,” Ed surmised.

Ling folded his arms across his chest and scoffed. “Of course I am, but she can take care of herself. She’s the strongest person I know. She’ll be fine.”

“And she’d probably kick your ass if she was a distraction for you here,” Ed pointed out.

A tiny smile slipped onto Ling’s face. “Don’t I know it.”

“You’re thinking too much,” Ed said. “These first internships don’t put us much in the way of danger.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Ugh, we’ll probably spend more of our time just patrolling and training at the agency. Maybe we’ll even learn how to do paperwork. You know, all the boring stuff that makes up being a hero in between the excitement and danger.”

Ling snorted. “You’re more than likely right.” He unfolded his arms and clapped a hand on Ed’s shoulder. Luckily, it was his flesh and bone side, so his hand didn’t accidentally strike the metal connecting his metal prosthetic to his shoulder. “Nice pep talk, Elric. Maybe you’re not so bad, after all, like a friendly little firecracker.”

“You know, one of these days, we’re going to have a joint simulation with our classes,” Ed replied flatly, “and I’m gonna punch you in your face.”

Instead of being threatened, Ling just laughed and pulled his hand away. “Maybe you’ll get the chance after lunch. Who knows?” He walked away and waved a hand without looking back. “Good luck!”

Ed jammed his hands into his pockets and muttered, “What an ass.”

Leaving his friends to talk to Ling totally hadn’t been worth it. Now he was irritable and hungry. Still, it was curious that Ling had allowed himself to get so worked up over his friend. He couldn’t believe that someone had managed to score an internship already without having to compete in the Sports Festival or why the teachers had allowed it. Still, he wouldn’t let his issues distract him.

Now, where were the others? Ed was starving.

*

Some time later, with the intermission over, the final event for the first years began. As Ed sat in the waiting room, tapping his prosthetic foot on the ground, Midoriya’s words kept echoing in his mind:  _ Tough break on matching up with Kaminari in the first round. _ It wasn’t just the first round. It was the first fight too. He really had drawn some shit luck. Not only would it bitterly sting if he was knocked out now, but to be the very first one would be an extra slap in the face.

It was not the kind of “first” he had in mind for the Sports Festival.

When he had found the others during the break, Midoriya hadn’t been with them. Apparently, he had been pulled away from Uraraka and Iida by Todoroki for a private conversation. When he finally joined them, there was an even more determined gleam in his eyes - and a slightly troubled look on his face that meant he was thinking hard about something. Whatever it was bothering him, he didn’t share with them and none of them asked. It had been private for a reason. If there was one thing Ed knew about his more elusive classmate, it was that he didn’t know a lot about him and Todoroki preferred it that way.

When the next event started, Ed didn’t even have time to go up with the others to sit in the stands. He barely had time to see Al and Winry before he was forced to shuffle off to the waiting room until it was officially time for his match to start. Now he sat in the room, listening to Present Mic’s enthusiastic announcing, before hearing the sound that alerted him to head out to the stage. The chair screeched loudly when he shoved it back and stood up, but he ignored it, shutting everything out except for the fight ahead of him.

If he could knock Kaminari out, then he stood a chance. He wasn’t a brawler. He could take a few hits, proven in class by Bakugou, but he wasn’t the fighter that Kirishima, Ed, Al, or Bakugou were. It wouldn’t take much to knock him unconscious and then drag him out of the ring. If by chance Kaminari did go all out with his quirk, he would short circuit himself and make it very easy to shove him out of the ring. All Ed had to do was somehow avoid being hit. He wouldn’t even have to fight. Still, that disperse of electricity went everywhere. The only metal Ed had to work with was his arm and leg - and metal was the second worse thing he could use when fighting Kaminari.

All in all, strategizing was a mindbending headache. If he touched Kaminari, he could be shocked and his metal limbs would only make it worse. If he kept his distance, he could still be shocked and knocked out cold. Maybe if he was able to detach his arm safer, he could use it as a projectile weapon when there wasn’t any other metal around. However, a looser connection to his shoulder would probably make it not as connected with his nerves, which would cause him to experience less control over it.

Again, Ed was screwed. He’d gotten lucky to get into the next round only to get the worse draw. It kind of made sense in a twisted sort of way. He wasn’t supposed to be in this round, so he’d had been given the worst possible matchup. It was still shitty. This was not the way he wanted to go out.

The second Ed stepped into the arena, he threw a hand over his eyes to shield himself from the blinding sun that glared down on him like an unforgiving spotlight. The crowd excitedly screamed as Present Mic yelled out his and Kaminari’s names for everyone to hear. Despite both of his feet feeling like they had when he’d first gotten a prosthetic, heavier the normal and weighing him down, Ed pushed onward until he was in the ring. He barely listened as Midnight gave the rules (knock out, ring out, that was the way to win) and didn’t look at the crowds, not even to find his brother or friends for support.

Across from him, Kaminari grinned as he stretched an arm across his chest. “No hard feelings, right, Edward?”

Despite his disadvantage and the fact that Kaminari was completely aware of it, Ed smirked. “Yeah, I’d rather you not be mad at me when I kick your ass. It’s nothing personal.”

Kaminari laughed and dropped his arm. “You ready to put on an electrifying show?”

“Only to stop you from making anymore bad puns,” Ed shot back.

A sound rang in the air and Midnight flicked her switch in front of her. The match started.

Ed bolted forward. He had to end this quickly. Unfortunately, Kaminari had the same idea. He shot out of a bolt of electricity that went everywhere. Ed jumped at the last second, right before it connected with his good foot, and managed to land on the ground after it passed through the area. However, he wasn’t able to completely dodge the second wave. It hit his leg and sent him sprawling to the ground, electricity shooting through his body as if he’d been tased. The metal limbs made it ten times worse and Kaiminari knew it.

However, before he could shoot off another round of electricity, Ed ripped his shoe off his metal shoe and rolled into a crouch as he chucked it at Kaminari. Completely taken aback by the random action, the shoe struck him right in the face. He staggered backward and nearly fell on his ass. By the time he’d regained his footing, Ed was on him and landed a solid punch to his chest that made Kaminari grunt and double over.

Having used his regular hand, the punch wasn’t as hard as it could’ve been and it didn’t knock the wind out of him. Despite Ed’s attack, he still had the awareness to activate his quirk at random. Instead of shooting electricity out of his body, Kaminari let it course through his own. Ed didn’t have time to pull his hand away from the forceful punch and the connection allowed the electricity to pass through Kaminari’s body and into his. Instead of being knocked away, he was stuck to Kaminari, crying out in pain.

When the electricity finally died, Ed stumbled back and collapsed to one knee, panting heavily as he struggled to move or even remain conscious. Getting electrocuted twice in quick succession hurt like hell. Black spots dotted his vision and it took everything in him not to sway on the spot. His white glove was singed and smoking, the fingertips completely burned off.

Kaminari winced as he stood up straight, pressing a hand where Ed had punched him. “Sorry about that, man. I should’ve just ended it quickly instead of going for flare.”

“Why...do that,” Ed gasped out, “when this is...so much...fun?”

“I hear that,” Kaminari replied, “but that’s gotta hurt.”

Electricity charged in the palms of his hands, tiny bolts racing up and around his arms. One more hit and Ed would most likely be out, but if Kaminari went at full blast, he was a goner. Using the last bit of his strength, he kicked out a leg and swiped the other boy off his feet. Kaminari yelped as he went down face first, slamming into the ground hard and probably breaking his nose, but before Ed could jump and escape the worst of his attack, he smacked his hand onto the dirt.

It was a direct hit.

The last time Ed had felt this much pain had been during the surgery to connect the prosthetics. Not even losing his limbs and the surgery after had been that bad, considering he’d been unconscious for most of it. Being struck by Kaminari’s quirk at such a high power ensured that every inch of his body screamed in pain. He dropped to the ground and seized on his back, clawing to get out of it somehow, but his metal limbs only made the electricity even worse and held him down.

He dropped into unconsciousness soon after, his mind and body unable to handle it anymore. He came to a few times, just enough to hear Midnight shouting something and then fingers on his neck. Someone murmuring to him. Kaminari’s stupid, dunce laughs whenever he overdid his quirk. Cold hands (metal claws, he knew that touch like the back of his, well, hand) lifting him onto a stretcher. And then he was out for good, half of his mind screaming at him to wake up and fight and the other half telling him to go the fuck to sleep.

*

By the time Ed came to in Recovery Girl’s office, he had nearly missed all of the first rounds. He jerked upright in bed with a gasp, his metal hand pressed over his heart. Echoes of Present Mic could be heard over the television showing the Festival fights, which had been muted to make the recovery room more peaceful. Ed watched silently as it replayed Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami’s fight. It appeared as if she had done as well as him, overwhelmed quickly by Dark Shadow.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Recovery Girl said as she swept back inside.

Ed rubbed his temple with his good hand. “How long was I out?”

“A while,” Recovery Girl informed him.

“And it’s still in the first rounds?” Ed asked, confused. They should’ve been over if he’d been out for a while unless two people had managed to fight much longer than anticipated.

Recovery Girl sighed in a way that one could tell she wasn’t pleased. “Todoroki froze half the stand during his match. It took a while to clean that up.”

“Oh.” Ed stared distantly in shock at the television, watching as it switched to a clip of what Recovery Girl had just told him. Despite being wrapped up in Sero’s tape, an insane amount of ice shot from Todoroki’s right foot, coating the ground, freezing Sero almost entirely, and turning into a glacier so massive that it rose over the stadium’s roof. Hell, he’d nearly hit the crowd with that attack.

What the hell? Going up against Kaminari didn’t feel so bad now. Poor Sero probably had to be excavated from that ice. That had to hurt. It was completely overboard. What had Todoroki been thinking?

“I didn’t expect you to wake so soon,” Recovery Girl admitted as she sat down in the chair at her desk. It didn’t make her much taller. “That electricity did a number on you. I’m surprised you were able to stay conscious for so long with those two prosthetics.”

Instinctively, Ed pulled his metal hand away from his chest and dropped it to his side. He flexed his fingers, trying to take note if there were any differences in how he could operate them, but there didn’t seem to be any lingering issues from being shocked. Recovery Girl had already known that one of his arms was a metal prosthetic too, having found out from his medical records when he showed up after destroying his leg during the first hero combat class, but that still didn’t make him feel any better about it being brought up.

“I’ve got a high tolerance for pain,” Ed informed her dryly.

“I imagine so,” Recovery Girl said before grumpily muttering something under her breath that sounded like, “You and Midoriya both.”

Ed threw the blanket off his legs. “Am I good to go?”

Recovery Girl frowned. “I prefer it if you stayed to rest a little longer.”

“I can rest in the stands,” Ed pointed out. “Even if Kaminari shortcircuited himself into being a dumbass, there’s no way I won that round. I’m done for the rest of the day.”

After eyeing him for a few beats, Recovery Girl sighed and waved him away. He hopped out of bed, trying to ignore how much his legs felt like jello, and found his shoes. Someone must’ve grabbed the one he’d thrown at Kaminari and brought it here. He slipped them on, thanked her, and then rushed out of the room. He didn’t want to miss anymore events. Most importantly, he didn’t want to be alone or he’d start to dwell on what had happened. 

If he remained clinical about the situation, he wouldn’t feel so shitty over his quick loss. He’d thought that when Al stepped down and took his place, he would be able to prove that he deserved to move on. He would show every person in the stands and watching TV that Al’s sacrifice hadn’t been for nothing. Instead, he’d been knocked out within minutes and had only landed two hits, one of which had seriously backfired on him. He should’ve aimed for the face again. He’d been so stupid.

When he finally made it to where Class 1-A was sitting in the stands, Ed was about to blow up, but seeing Al only made him want to turn away and run again. He’d failed his little brother. How could he have done that? Before he could leave, Midoriya spotted him and waved a hand, calling out, “Hey, we saved you a seat!”

Digging his hands into his pockets, Ed had no choice but to walk down the steps to their row. As soon as he sat down next to Al, Kaminari leaned over and said, “I really am sorry about that.”

“Don’t be,” Ed told him honestly.

“Uh, I basically fried you,” Kaminari said.

“You fried yourself in the process too.”

Kaminari chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I kind of did do that.”

“Besides, this is a competition and we’re here to win,” Ed pointed out. “I would’ve done the same in your position. Congratulations on moving forward.” He felt a little lighter after saying that. While he hadn’t been disgruntled with Kaminari for winning, he’d been mad at himself for losing. But this was a competition and there would always be both winners and losers. He couldn't win every time. Sometimes he had to be the loser in order to be the winner another day. “Who do you face next?”

“Ugh.” Kaminari sank back in his seat. “The Class President himself.”

Ed grinned. “Good luck with that.”

“You should’ve seen his fight with Hatsume,” Al snickered. “It was...something.” Ed quirked a curious eyebrow at him. “He’s got a fire lit under him now.”

“Who’s up next?” Ed asked curiously.

“Last match of the first round,” Midoriya said excitedly, which meant that he had already gone. Ed noticed the bandage around one of his fingers, a familiar look with Midoriya, but nothing else appeared to be wrong with him. He was relatively uninjured. Did that mean he’d won his match with Shinsou or had he been taken out quickly before any serious damage could be done? Nah, Midoriya was more tenacious than that. He’d rather break himself apart than lose. “Kirishima and the kid from Class 1-B that you partnered up with in the cavalry battle. What was his name?”

“Ling.” Ed leaned forward to look down over the railing, trying to spot one of the two students who should appear any minute now. However, rubble littered the arena, the ring half destroyed, and smoke drifted lazily from the rocks. “Wait. What the hell happened?”

Midoriya winced. “Uraraka and Bakugou’s match. I just got back from checking on her. She’s okay, but…”

Ed balled his hands into his fists. “What did that bastard do?”

“He won,” Midoriya said flatly, looking away from him and back into the arena.

“It was a really remarkable fight!” Al insisted. “Bakugou kept attacking her with his explosions and it was terrifying, but she never stopped. She just kept coming at him every time. And then” - he threw his hands in the air - “it turned out she’d been touching the ground so all the rubble he created with his explosions was floating in the air and she dropped it on him like a meteor shower!”

“And Bakugou still won?” Ed demanded.

Midoriya looked down at his notebook resting in his lap. Had he been taking notes on everyone’s quirks and fighting styles this whole time? What a delightful nerd. “He’s got a lot more power behind his explosions than we know and specialty moves as well. We should all strive to be at his level.”

“No thanks, I don’t want to be a jackass,” Ed declared as he folded his arms across his chest and dropped back into his seat.

“Hey! I heard that!” Bakugou snapped as he stomped down the stairs to sit down.

Ed held his hands up and shrugged. “Does it look like I care?”

“Bro, just sit down and watch the fight,” Sero said, immediately playing the role of peacemaker. That was normally Kirishima’s job, but he was busy at the moment, so Sero had to take over. “Look, there’s Kirishima!”

Indeed, just as Sero had pointed out, Kirishima had walked onto the field, a fierce look of determination on his face. On the other side, Ling stepped up, practically strolling like he wasn’t concerned, but it didn’t look right on him like usual. Ed narrowed his eyes. Something was off, even more so than two or three hours ago during lunch. He barely even glanced at Kirishima and kept looking at the entry he’d come from, as if he wanted to go back. It wasn’t out of fear or insecurity.

No, Ling just looked like he didn’t to be here at all. He barely looked like he cared about what was going on.

When the fight started, Ed watched Ling closely. He was startled when something that reminded him of Dark Shadow jumped out of his body. Instead of the shape of a bird, the fuzzy shadow took on the appearance of a man before it wrapped itself around Ling. No, it infused itself with his body, but it didn’t disappear like Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow did when it went back in him. Ling’s entire body transformed into something that resembled black charcoal with red lines running down his skin. He was bald and had sharp teeth coming out of his mouth. Even more noticeable for some reason were the sharp claws that had once been his fingers.

“Whoa!” Kaminari shouted in surprise. “What the hell is that?”

Ling looked like a monster.

He jumped to attack, forcing Kirishima to harden his arms with his quirk right away. If he hadn’t, Ling’s new claws would’ve shredded the skin of his arms like ribbons. Sparks scattered through the air every time his claws connected with Kirishima’s arms, pushing him to the edge of the ring inch-by-inch. Kirishima ducked so that the claws sliced through the air and tackled Ling around the middle. It somehow didn’t knock him off his feet even with Kirishima now fully hardened, but shoved him back into the middle.

Their quirks forced them into a painful standstill. They went at it for a few minutes, clashing with each other so brutally that even Ed wanted to wince. There was no way either of them would escape this fight without feeling something, even if they were shielded by their quirks. It was painful just watching them fight. He would’ve been knocked out ages ago. Hadn’t Ling told him that he had something similar to a hardening quirk? Now that he looked back on it, Ling hadn’t used his quirk during the cavalry battle at all. This was much different than Ed had anticipated. It was a lot more vicious.

Kirishima landed a solid punch to the side of Ling’s head, knocking him sideways onto the ground. He rolled a few feet before coming to a stop. He slowly pushed himself up with his hands, but stopped for some reason, shaking his head violently like he was arguing with someone.

“Shut up!” Ling yelled.

“Get it together, kid!” another much more mature-sounding voice came from him. “You’re not focusing!”

Tokoyami leaned forward, his sharp eyes locked on Ling. “It...sounds like someone is talking to him.”

Midoriya gawked. “Could he possibly have a quirk similar to Dark Shadow?”

“I…” Tokoyami gripped the back of the chair in front of him. “I have been alone with Dark Shadow my entire life. I’ve never known anyone else to possess something similar to the darkness I have inside me.”

Ling writhed on the ground and shouted, “This is pointless! I’m not doing this!”

With another pained shout, the shadow they’d seen before was expelled from him and his body returned to normal. It was sucked back inside of his chest, but disappeared as Dark Shadow did this time. Although confused by what he’d witnessed, Kirishima took a step forward and then another until he reached Ling’s side and kicked him as hard as he could. Without even attempting to defend himself or get out of the way, Ling was thrown out of the arena.

“Ling Yao is disqualified by ring out!” Midnight declared.

“Uh, Ejirou Kirishima advances to the next round!” Present Mic finished, sounding somewhat mind-boggled but running with the outcome anyway.

While everyone in the stands cheered, Ed watched Ling carefully. He wasn’t unconscious, but he continued to lay flat on his back, staring up at the sky, completely unmoving. It was hard to say what he was looking at, but if Ed had to guess, he would say that Ling wasn’t looking at anything. He didn’t even seem to realize that he’d lost his match. There was a hollow expression on his face. He wasn’t here at all.

Kirishima hesitantly walked in his direction to help him up, but then Ling abruptly hopped to his feet, using the agility he’d displayed during the cavalry battle but not during the one-on-one match. Before Kirishima could say or ask him anything, Ling turned on his heels and stiffly walked off the stage and out of the stadium without a single word, leaving Kirishima to scratch the back of his head in confusion.

“What was all that about?” Al asked.

“Is he not compatible with his quirk?” Midoriya murmured to himself as he scribbled in his notebook. “It appears to be a separate entity like Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow, but quirks like that are incredibly rare. Yao… That’s not a Japanese name, is it? If he’s not from around here, it could account for why he has a similar quirk…”

Ed stared at the entryway where Ling disappeared. He thought of the phone call from earlier that he’d overheard and what Ling had told him about his friend interning with Ingenium in Hosu. He’d said something Hosu being under fire. Had something happened? Or did he simply not believe he belonged to advance to the next round due to Al and Ojiro stepping down and revolted against the decision.

Whatever the case, it was weird as fuck and left an unsettled feeling in Ed’s gut that lingered with him throughout the rest of the matches. He didn’t like it.


End file.
